To Live a Lie
by Rosey1118
Summary: There weren't many options for a girl like her. It was do this or do that and never cause any problems, because who wanted to deal with those? So when someone shows her a different way of living, Camellia Norewood doesn't know exactly what to think. All she knows is that she's tired of her life the way it is, and she no longer wants to live a lie. *All rights to J.K. Rowling*
1. Chapter 1

There was a long, drawn out silence in which Camellia stared at her older brother, her world falling to pieces. Vaughn had been her best friend ever since she was two and he was five. And now he was telling her _this_? "What do you mean by that?" she asked, her voice a mixture of hurt and anger. He couldn't just walk away like this; they were family and family was forever. At least it was in her mind; apparently Vaughn thought differently.

Camellia gripped her wand tightly as he glared at her. She knew she couldn't use magic, but she sure as hell could keep a grip on her wand. Holding it was somehow the only reason she hadn't convinced herself the whole thing was a dream. "Cam put your wand down," he instructed.

"Don't call me that," she hissed. "My family calls me that, not those who are abandoning me,"

"I'm not-"

"It's the same damn thing! You're choosing that prejudiced maniac over your family-over _me_!"

"I'm trying to help you all, Camellia! If I join he won't target you and Max!"

"You're joining _Voldemort_! That's only going to make us targets, Vaughn, and you know it. And what are you going to tell Max, huh?"

"I'll tell him to try for Slytherin when he gets sorted, and when he's older he can join up as well,"

"You've got to be kidding me. Max? A Death Eater? They would ruin him, Vaughn!"

"It's my decision,"

"It's his life,"

"I'm the head of this family now, Camellia, and I won't stand for your behavior,"

"You are not my father,"

"No, but I could make you join as well. You'll make a lovely, silently obedient bride to whoever claims you first. You'll be married in; there will be no getting out of that,"

"You wouldn't dare,"

"Don't test me,"

Camellia bit back a reply as she heard the sound of Max's large feet running toward the dining room. He'd turned eleven early in the summer and he would be starting his first year at Hogwarts while Camellia entered her sixth. She knew how excited he was and she knew how much he wanted to follow after the rest of their family and go into Slytherin. But he was by far the kindest out of all of them, so Camellia was secretly hoping for Hufflepuff to come out of the Sorting Hat's mouth. Before she knew her older brother would have laughed at the outcome; now she wasn't so sure.

"Cam are there waffles?" Max asked excitedly as he ran into the room and sat in the chair next to hers.

"Not yet, but there will be," she said, her tone clipped and her voice still angry.

"What's going on?" he asked, finally realizing the tension that was overtaking the room.

"Cam's just being silly," Vaughn said, offering Max a smile. "She wasn't happy with my big news,"

Max's face lit up immediately. "What's your big news?"

"Do you remember what happened to our parents?" Vaughn asked bluntly. Max nodded solemnly and Camellia fought to keep herself from letting tears escape at the thought. "Well I've found a way to protect us so that never happens again,"

"How?"

"I've become a follower of the Dark Lord," he explained, showing off the tattoo like imagine on his arm. He grinned proudly, but Max's face took on a look of confusion.

"Aren't-Aren't they bad?" Max asked. "Cam says they're bad,"

"Cam doesn't know what she's talking about,"

"But Cam's the smartest-"

"Not when it comes to things like this. Don't you want our family to stay safe?"

"I-Yes, but-"

"This is the only way, Max. Maybe when you're older you'll understand and you'll join too,"

Max looked between Camellia and Vaughn with wide eyes before he nodded once. Vaughn seemed pleased with himself and began eating while Camellia and Max sat in silence, waiting for their house elf Mina to bring them their special _off to Hogwarts_ breakfast. Mina seemed to sense that something was wrong when she walked into the room because she looked at Camellia with concerned eyes, but Camellia dismissed her with a quiet, "Thank you,"

The remainder of the meal passed in silence, Vaughn reading the Daily Prophet, Camellia glaring at the table, and Max throwing them each worried glances. Once she'd finished eating, Camellia pushed her chair away from the table. "I need to finish packing," she stated. Which was true; she had yet to put her books in her trunk and they had to leave for the train in an hour. At the same time the words got her away from her brother, who's arm was making her feel sick. He'd left his Dark Mark out in the open and Camellia couldn't handle looking at it.

She sighed as she got to her room, seeing the silver and green she'd decorated it with six years ago. Slytherin, her house, had meant something amazing then. It meant that she had ambition, that she would always persevere, and that she was smart enough to get herself out of sticky situations. But now it had pretty much been transformed into the house of evil. Which didn't mean that all from Slytherin were evil, but that was the reputation brought on by the sheer number of evil people that had come from the house. As much as she wanted Max to be in the same house as her, she knew no good would come to him in Slytherin. He didn't value ambition enough, for starters, and he was kinder and braver than anyone else in her house. The Slytherins would despise him for that.

After a brief fifteen minutes of getting herself ready for the long train ride, Camellia focused all of her attention on organizing her trunk and getting her textbooks to fit in perfectly. She knew that avoiding Vaughn for so long would only anger him, but Camellia couldn't face him at the moment. She had no idea how her sweet, playful brother had been turned into what he was now, but she suspected the fact that he worshipped Lucius Malfoy played a part in it.

At exactly ten o'clock, Mina appeared in her room and grabbed hold of her trunk. "Masters Vaughn and Maxwell are waiting downstairs, Miss," Mina said. "Are you ready as well?"

"Yes, I-Thank you Mina," she said, following the little elf out of the room and down to the front door.

"Are you both ready?" Vaughn asked, frowning when he saw Camellia. "Couldn't you put a little more effort into your appearance, Cam? I was serious before; we will have to find you a-"

"I think you should worry about your own marital status before mine, Vaughn," she said coldly. "It's a bloody train ride, Vaughn. I'm going to be sitting with Regulus Black and he doesn't give a damn about what I look like,"

Her brother scowled at her and Camellia tried to ignore the pain in her chest at the look. Only a day ago that same conversation would have been said in a joking manner. But now Camellia was furious with her brother and Vaughn was suddenly acting like a power-hungry dictator that she barely even recognized. "Cam can I sit with you?" Max asked.

"Of course," Camellia said without a second thought. She knew that Regulus, her best friend despite the two year age gap, wouldn't mind because he'd always been kind to Max on the few occasions they'd met. "Unless, of course, you've any qualms about that, Vaughn?"

His scowl deepened. "You know I don't," he said. "In fact I fully expect you to watch out for him these next two years,"

Max made a face and looked like he was about to launch into a speech about how he was old enough to look out for himself, but Camellia shook her head to make him stop. "If we don't leave we're going to be late," she muttered. "And as I currently have no desire to see you I'd like to leave," she added, knowing the words would infuriate her brother and taking pleasure in that fact.

Vaughn threw her an irritated glance before ruffling Max's hair and grabbing each of their arms. "Are you holding on to your trunks?" At their nods he smiled and waited a second before disapparating. When Camellia opened her eyes she was pleased to see they were on the platform. She wrenched her arm out of Vaughn's grip and turned to walk away before his hand found her shoulder. "Cam?"

"What?" she snapped.

"I trust you know well enough not to mention what I told you this morning to anyone?"

"I'm not an idiot. And it's not like I want to go advertising the fact that _you're_ an idiot and-"

"Max? Will you keep this secret as well?"

"I will," he said, nodding and glancing at Camellia. "I'll see you at Christmas, Vaughn," Max quickly hugged their older brother before Camellia grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the train. A small crack was her evidence that Vaughn had left, so she quickly stopped and put her hands on Max's cheeks.

"I need you to listen to me," she said, watching his face fill with concern.

"Okay?"

"I want you to try for Hufflepuff,"

"For-But don't you want me to be in the same house as you?"

"Of course I do," Camellia said, looking at him with sad eyes. "And if it were a different time I would be happy for you to be in Slytherin. But half the people there are going to turn out to be like Vaughn; do you want to be like him?" Max hesitated before he slowly shook his head. "You're perfect for Hufflepuff; you should try to get in there,"

"But Vaughn says only useless witches and wizards go into Hufflepuff," Max whispered.

"And I say Vaughn is an idiot. It's for loyal people, Max, like you. Vaughn couldn't belong there so he thinks he has to hate it,"

"But if we're in different houses then you won't talk to me,"

"What gave you that idea?"

"You stopped talking to me a lot when you started Hogwarts," he mumbled.

Camellia frowned and quickly hugged her younger brother. "Well that's not going to happen,"

"Promise?"

"Prom-"

"Well isn't this touching," an amused voice said, making Camellia pull away and turn around quickly.

"Reg," she breathed, a smile forming on her face before she noticed that his parents were standing behind him. "Mr. and Mrs. Black," she said, using a much more formal voice than she was used to. "It's a pleasure to see you again,"

"What's this I hear about different houses?" Mrs. Black asked, her eyes narrowing as she looked between Camellia and Max.

"Max is just worried what will happen if he's not put in Slytherin," she lied easily. "I told him not to worry, Mrs. Black, because-"

"There's no way a Norewood could be anything else," Mrs. Black said, still frowning. "You do want to be in Slytherin, don't you Maxwell?"

He seemed surprised that she knew his actual first name, so he just stared at her with his mouth hanging open. Camellia quickly elbowed him and he nodded quickly. "Um, yes, Mrs. Black, I do,"

"Then there's nothing to worry about," she said, her frown finally disappearing. She turned to her son then, and patted his shoulder in a surprising show of affection. "I fully expect you back for Christmas," she said.

"Of course, Mother," he said.

She stepped away from him then and her frown returned. "Make sure to keep my Regulus and your brother away from that trash," she sniffed, glaring at something over Camellia's shoulder. Camellia turned around only to see Sirius Black about twenty feet away with his three friends, laughing loudly. There was pure joy on his face, an expression that would never be seen in the group Camellia was standing in. "You are the oldest; you're responsible for the both of them,"

Camellia fought the urge to roll her eyes at the woman because she knew if she did than Mrs. Black would never let her near Regulus again. And he'd been her best friend since her third year, because they'd both been on the receiving end of a prank by his brother. The action had bonded them and Camellia thought of Regulus as another younger brother. She didn't get along well with many of the other Slytherins, mainly because she didn't like to take the time to deal with their mind games. Her other friends resided in Ravenclaw, though Julie Andrews, the Hufflepuff prefect in her year, had finally gained her trust and they spoke every now and then.

"Study hard this year, Regulus," his father encouraged. There seemed to be an underlying meaning to the words because Regulus cringed slightly before he nodded. Camellia made a mental note to ask about the cringing, and a moment later his parents had disappeared into thin air.

"Sorry about them," he apologized quietly. "Mother can be a menace,"

Camellia laughed and shrugged. "Trust me, Vaughn was worse this morning," she said, watching Max's eyes go wide at the words. "He was, um, upset about having us both out of the house,"

Max seemed to relax slightly as she lied, though Camellia felt awful about it. She hated keeping secrets from Regulus, but she also did not want to broadcast what her brother was doing. "So are you sitting with us today, Max?" Regulus asked politely.

"Cam said I could,"

"Well at least I won't be the youngest then," Regulus said, glancing at Camellia. "That title goes to you now,"

After a few more minutes of standing on the platform Camellia convinced the two boys to climb on to the train so they could get a decent compartment. At that time there was still a half hour before the train left for Hogwarts so most compartments were still empty.

For a while Regulus appeased Max by asking about which classes he was most looking forward to and whether or not he wanted to get into quidditch when he was a second year. It was amusing to listen to for Camellia because Regulus was obviously trying to act more mature than he really was and Max was excitedly babbling about how much he was looking forward to his Potions class. It was her favorite class as well and she was looking forward to when he would come to her for help. And she knew he would; he'd already asked if he could come to her for help.

Once the train had started to move the conversation shifted to which sweets Cam would be buying for them all; Regulus promised to fund their chocolate needs for the Hogsmeade trip and Camellia thought that was fair. They were so caught up in their debate of which kind of candy was best that they hardly noticed the door to the compartment slide open. Camellia only looked up when Max tugged on her arm and what she saw definitely didn't please her. Cam glared at the three boys standing in the entry as Regulus stiffened beside her. After realizing that neither Regulus nor Max were going to say anything Camellia cleared her throat. "I didn't realize the three of you were friends," she said coldly, looking at Sirius Black and James Potter. They each had an arm on Severus Snape, who simply looked defeated. "Let him go; no one needs this today,"

"Quite the contrary, actually," Sirius said, smirking. "See Snivellus here wouldn't leave poor Evans alone so James and I were looking for the trash so we could put him there and he would feel at home. I saw brother dearest here and knew we'd found it,"

Camellia's eyes narrowed as Max's chin began to tremble. No one had ever said something remotely mean to him before and then Sirius Black had to go and ruin that. She was very prepared to tell them off, but Max opened his mouth before she could. "You don't have to be so mean," he said boldly. "If he really was bothering someone then tell him to go away and be done. You don't have to drag him around and embarrass him,"

Camellia lost the glare and grinned proudly at her brother, who was looking at her for reassurance. "Hufflepuff," she muttered, smiling widely.

Sirius and James seemed to have a silent argument with each other before they released Severus' arms and shoved him into the compartment. "Stay away from Lily," James muttered.

With that they left and Severus took the opportunity to glare at Max and Camellia. "I don't need-" he began.

"He saved your ass, Severus, just sit down and shut up,"

"Don't tell me what to do, Norewood,"

"Then don't be an idiot," she muttered. "Go back out and chase after Evans if you want, but those two will grab hold of you again and I'm positive they wouldn't bring you back here again,"

He seemed to want to walk away, but after a few seconds he lowered himself into the seat next to Max. Who, of course, took it upon himself to get Severus to talk. "So, what's your favorite subject? Are you friends with Cam too?"

"No," he muttered. After a few seconds and a furious look from Camellia he added, "Potions,"

Regulus laughed at the excitement that stole Max's features. For the rest of the train ride Severus actually talked to Max about Potions, which surprised both Camellia and Regulus. They took the opportunity to talk in whispers about their summers. Regulus seemed to be holding some things back, though Camellia did the same so she wasn't mad. With Regulus' parents there were things he definitely wanted to hide, and now that Camellia's brother had gone off and become a Death Eater she had things to hide as well.

The train ride passed quickly after that. Camellia was content in her compartment, and she was actually still surprised that Severus was willing talking to anyone who wasn't Lily Evans. Though she should have known if anyone could get that kind of response from the angry boy then it would be her brother; Max had a talent for bringing out the best in people. She admired her younger brother for that fact alone as what Camellia usually brought out was sarcastic comments. She took more after Vaughn than Max did, not in the Death Eater way, but most of their personality traits were similar. They were both fairly rough around the edges; Max was the opposite. Camellia was half sure that was why she liked him so much.

Soon enough she was hugging Max tightly before he left her to go to the boats that would bring him up to the castle. She was left with Severus and Regulus then, who were quietly trying to figure out how Remus Lupin became a prefect. It had happened the previous year so Camellia was sure the only reason they were still talking about it was because neither liked the other boy. Camellia didn't really have a preference on him. She wasn't a fan of James or Sirius, as they were both rude to many of the other students. Peter Pettigrew was annoying in her opinion because he just followed blindly after the other two. The main redeeming factor for Remus Lupin was the fact that she'd never heard him say something hurtful; if she'd heard that she'd probably dislike him about as much as she disliked the other three.

"Must you insist on talking about one of those boys every second?" she muttered, narrowing her eyes at Severus. He glared right back at her and continued talking without acknowledging her words in any other way. Camellia leaned her head against the side of their carriage with an overdramatic sigh to show her irritation; the two boys obviously didn't care.

When they reached the great hall Regulus wandered off to find some of his friends in his own year. Which meant, of course, that Camellia was stuck with a suddenly silent Severus Snape, who was taking every opportunity to glare at people from other houses as they passed. She bit back an irritated remark and watched the teacher's table with fake interest as they sat in silence.

Camellia was relieved to see the first years walk in, because she saw Max talking to a brown-haired girl standing next to him. She was especially relieved to see that he seemed to be over the nerves he'd had earlier. She waited patiently for his name to be called, and once it was she smiled as he walked up and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher, set the hat on his head and Max looked nervous once again. For a few seconds there was silence in the great hall before the hat proudly called out, " _Gryffindor_!"

Her mouth fell open at the same time as Max's, and he quickly looked to her with a panicked expression on his face. His mouth opened and closed as he tried to form some sort of response, but Camellia could only nod slightly as Professor McGonagall pulled the hat off his head and gave him a small push toward the cheering table. "Shame," Severus muttered.

"What?" Camellia asked stupidly.

"Your brother is in a house full of idiots; and to think I thought he was halfway decent,"

"He's _amazing_ ," Camellia said defensively. "His house does not define him,"

With that she turned her attention away from him and watched the rest of the sorting, all the while wondering how on earth she could have been wrong about which house her brother would end up in. He was sweet and loyal; she'd been sure it would be Hufflepuff. But Gryffindor? The house that was supposed to be her rival? She hadn't expected that at all. Camellia threw a worried glance at the Gryffindor table before food appeared in front of her and she began to eat.


	2. Chapter 2

If Remus was capable of feeling only one thing for the rest of his life he was sure it would be exhaustion. The first night back at Hogwarts in his sixth year was just extra awful because for starters he'd had to deal with Sirius and James being rude to Snape again, but it was also worse because the full moon was only a week away and he was already starting to feel a little sick. It would be awful, he suspected, because usually he was still feeling good this far in advance. He'd refused to see his friends before going back to Hogwarts despite previously making plans with them, as he hadn't wanted them to have to deal with his increasingly bad mood.

He'd thought that maybe, just maybe being back at Hogwarts would calm him slightly, but all it did was make him nervous about the transformations he would go through throughout the year. Yes his friends were going to be there throughout all of them to keep him in line when he lost his mind, but the first years looked so bloody small and he was terrified that he would hurt one of them. He'd have to leave Hogwarts then, without a completed education and-

"Moony you look like you're about to have a heart attack," Sirius whispered from across the table. "Calm down, mate, whatever's going through your head is probably ridiculous anyway,"

"As ridiculous as Sirius' obsession with-"

"Don't you dare say it, James," Sirius hissed, narrowing his eyes at the boy beside Remus.

"-Renee Jordan, that Hufflepuff girl,"

"Screw you, Prongs,"

James grinned as another first year was called up to be sorted. He waited a moment, for the hat to make its announcement of the girl's house so there was less of a chance of being overheard, before he muttered, "Isn't that what you want Jordan to do to you?"

"James!" Sirius practically yelled, reaching into his pocket and grabbing a chocolate frog before throwing it at James' head. It missed and hit Remus' nose instead, which might have been funny had he not already been irritated.

"Can we not get through _one_ meal without causing a problem?" Remus asked angrily.

His friends shut up almost immediately at his tone and Remus turned his attention back to the sorting in time to hear a, "Norewood, Maxwell," be called up to the front. Remus' eyes narrowed slightly, as the last name sounded vaguely familiar, before Sirius snorted.

"Slytherin that one, I'm sure of it,"

A moment later the hat shouted out that the kid was a Gryffindor. James smirked at the announcement and said, "Sure of it, are you Padfoot?"

Remus rolled his eyes but continued to watch the boy, who was looking frantically at the Slytherin table. After a second he moved to sit at the Gryffindor table, looking at his housemates with wide, fearful eyes. "Do we know another Norewood?"

"That prat of a Head Boy from when we were fourth years," James answered.

Remus grimaced at the memory of the head boy; they'd lost so many points when he was in control for things like laughing too loudly. Sirius had even had twenty points taken off for having too long of hair. Which was ridiculous and everyone knew it, but no one fought back on the matter. "Is there another one?"

"Not that I-"

"Isn't that the name of Slytherin's Mummy?"

"Slytherin's _what_?" Remus asked in disbelief. He'd never heard that term before, applied to anyone in Slytherin. To be quite honest he couldn't see anyone as a mother in Slytherin, because most people there were incredibly cold there and mothers, in his opinion, were warm people.

"I'm fairly certain that the last name of the girl who acts like every Slytherin's mother," Peter mumbled, trying to add to the conversation.

"The girl from the train, do you think? Regulus' friend, right Sirius?" James asked. "Isn't that her last name? That or it's something with a direction,"

"No that's her. My pathetic excuse of a mother went on and on about her once she became friends with my mother. She thought the girl would be the _perfect pureblooded wife that would make you settle down_ ," Sirius said, raising his voice in a poor imitation of his mother at the end. "Trust me, once you hear nonstop about the bloody girl for an entire summer it's hard to forget her name. Well, her first name I don't have any recollection of, but her last name is most certainly Norewood,"

Remus nodded. He really hadn't needed an entire story, but he should have expected that from Sirius. He was always the one for drama, which Remus had only just started getting used to. "Explains why he was looking over there then," he muttered, trying once again to focus on the sorting. That didn't seem to work very well though, as his eyes kept flickering to the scared looking boy who was, if Remus saw correctly, shaking in his seat.

He found the meal and Dumbledore's speech uninteresting as his body began to ache once again, as it had been for the past few days. The pain was less intense now than it would be later, but it was certainly there and he was not having an easy time dealing with it. Letting his friends see, however, was not something Remus intended on doing. They would fuss over him like they always did-and they thought the Norewood girl acted like a mother. Obviously they didn't realize how pathetic they made him feel during each full moon with the way they treated him.

"Be honest with me for a moment," James said, attempting to pull their group into a conversation.

"Aren't we always, James?" Peter asked with a small smile.

James only rolled his eyes and smiled back at him. "Yes, Peter, and I thank you for that. You two though, have a tendency to lie,"

"Just spit out what you want to say," Sirius said.

"Do you think I should serenade Lily at the first quidditch match? I mean as captain I'm sure I have some ability to get that kind of time. Maybe a big proposal like that will make her notice me more,"

"For crying out loud, James, leave the poor girl alone. She already knows you have feelings for her; give her time," Remus said, forcing himself to take a bite of dinner. He chewed slowly and thoughtfully, taking his time so he wouldn't start to feel sick and have to run off to the bathroom. That had happened this morning; his mother had force fed him bacon and eggs, and a large helping at that, and as soon as he'd gotten it all down he'd run to the bathroom and, well, it had all come back up. So far his friends hadn't noticed but if this continued Remus knew he was in for a lot of nagging.

"Never," James smiled, digging into his own plate. Sirius began giving out song suggestions and Peter laughed as well, and Remus was sure he was going to be rolling his eyes for a long time. It was an absolutely idiotic idea but he was half sure James would actually go through with it. Remus made a mental note to mention the boy's plan to Lily when they had their first patrol together.

Remus chose to ignore his friends throughout the rest of dinner; he couldn't deal with their actions at the moment and forcing them out of his evening was really the only way to make sure he didn't have to deal with them. He loved his friends, he really did, but he was so damn tired and he was never in a good mood when he was tired. When dinner was dismissed he let out a sigh of relief and hurried to find Lily, who'd told him that they were going to trail behind the group of first years to make sure none got lost. The fifth year prefects were always the ones to show the first years around their house, but Lily wanted to make sure nothing bad happened when she was in charge.

Lily smiled when he reached her, patting his shoulder as she actually looked at him. It was one thing he loved about Lily Evans; she actually _looked_ at a person. She was a good friend, though he knew James was jealous of the fact he could talk to her without being hexed. "How was your summer Remus?" she asked as they followed the sound of the fifth year's voices. For the life of him Remus couldn't remember their names, but he figured he would learn them at some point.

"It wasn't awful," he shrugged, offering her a tired smile of his own. "How was yours, Lily?"

"It was okay, a little quieter than normal," she said, her smile faltering. Remus nodded in understanding; he knew that Lily and Snape lived close to one another and usually spent the summer together, but after the messy end of their friendship the year earlier he assumed they didn't hang out together.

"I'm glad it was okay," Remus said, following the first years out of the great hall. Most were talking excitedly, which almost made him want to smile more, before he noticed that a boy with short brown hair was walking with his head down. Remus couldn't see his face from where he was standing, but he was willing to guess that it was Maxwell Norewood who was silently following the other first years. Remus hesitated slightly before turning to glance at Lily. "Have you ever heard of the Norewood in Slytherin? The girl, not the older one from a few years ago,"

"You mean Camellia Norewood? Of course I've heard of her; Sev-Snape used to talk about her every now and then,"

"What did he say about her?"

"It was really just in passing. He used to mention that she liked Potions, and that she seemed halfway decent for her older brother being who he was. That and the fact that she treated him and everyone else like they were five,"

"What was wrong with-"

"I never spoke to him myself, but I've been told he liked to experiment with dark magic. Snape said he'd heard her parents were more indifferent to the matter, but the older one apparently had a fascination of what You-Know-Who was doing,"

Remus chose to nod instead of responding, watching the younger Norewood curiously. He was probably disappointed with being in Gryffindor, as it seemed his entire family was probably in Slytherin. Remus couldn't understand that; Slytherin was the worst house to be in because of what they seemed to love to do. Which, as far as Remus had seen, was torment people if they were anything other than a pureblooded Slytherin. He'd seen it time and time again, and it was hard to think of that house doing anything else.

They made it to the Gryffindor common room and Remus instantly felt at home in the room. It was decorated exclusively in red and gold, which had irritated him at first but over the years he'd grown used to it. Remus' favorite spot was in one of the chairs by the fireplace, which was currently open. Those chairs were some of the most fought over spots in the entire castle, Remus was sure, because they were some of the most comfortable things in the world. He fought the urge to sit down as he listened to the fifth year's explanation of where the dormitories were, and Remus quickly became aware that there had been no actually reason for him and Lily to tag along. The fifth years were handling the whole thing beautifully; better than he had anyway.

A few seconds later the first years were dismissed and Lily waved goodbye to go find some of her friends. Remus took the opportunity to sit down in one of the chairs, running his hands over his face as he fought the urge to disappear to his dormitory. It wasn't even nine at night and he was already ready to go to bed and sleep for the next five years. Though he wouldn't be able to do that; his friends would keep him up all night trying to come up with some awful prank that Remus would want no part of but would ultimately help with. Honestly he wouldn't be surprised if they'd wake him up if he did actually go up to his dormitory then and fall right to sleep.

Remus was pulled away from his thoughts as the door to the common room swung open and people poured into it. His friends were laughing loudly upon entrance, which was something Remus knew would happen almost every day for the next two years. He didn't mind as he did enjoy having such happy friends; they made him feel better when he was miserable. They caught his eye and began walking over before Remus heard a sniffle. He turned around, expecting to find someone with a cold, though he only saw the Norewood kid sitting in a straight-backed chair in the corner of the room furiously wiping at his eyes. Remus stared at him for a few seconds, fighting the urge to walk over and find out what was wrong. As per usual he lost the internal battle and stood up almost as soon as his friends reached him. "I'll be back in a minute," he said, watching James shrug and Sirius narrow his eyes.

He made his way over to the kid and tried to put a comforting expression on his face. "Hey there," he said, watching the boy flinch and look up at him with fear in his eyes. "It's Maxwell, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Your name, it's Maxwell, right?"

"It's just Max," he mumbled, pulling his knees to his chest and looking at Remus with wary eyes. He wiped his cheeks again, obviously trying to get rid of any left over tears. "Who are you?"

"Remus Lupin; I'm a prefect,"

"Oh,"

"So I noticed that you seem to be a little upset," he said awkwardly, wishing the kid was a tad more open. If he could get the conversation over with then he could go back to his friends and at least have them leave him alone. The kid shrugged slightly though his lower lip began to tremble and Remus sighed. "Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?"

"No,"

"Are you sure about that? What is it that's got you so upset anyway?"

Max hesitated, trying to decide whether or not to trust the other boy in front of him. Remus wasn't sure if Max would actually tell him anything, but after a moment the younger boy's mouth opened. "Cam's going to be mad at me," he whispered.

"Who's Cam?"

"My sister; she's a sixth year. She… She told me to try and be in Hufflepuff but I got put here and she's going to be so mad and-"

"Hey, I'm sure she won't be mad. Why'd she want you in Hufflepuff?" Max went silent, his face going a light shade of pink. "Never mind. I'm sure she's very proud of you. Gryffindor's a good place to be,"

"But she said-"

"Would it help if you could hear her opinion on the matter?" Remus asked, not truly wanting to take a trip to the dungeons. But if it got the kid to stop crying then he was willing to try; he didn't want Max to have a bad first night.

"I don't know where she is,"

"She's a Slytherin, right?" Max nodded and Remus forced a smile onto his face before reaching out a hand. Max took it and Remus led him to the entrance, quickly pulling him into the corridor.

"Where are we going?" Max asked in surprise.

"To find your sister,"

"But she's-"

"She's a Slytherin. So?"

"You can't go into their common room,"

"I'm not going in. I'm just going to ask for her to come out. If it will make you feel better then it's worth it,"

Max stared at him for a moment before he began to willingly follow Remus to the dungeons. Remus, after five years, knew exactly where the entrance to the Slytherin common room was, mainly because of James and Sirius. He knew they wouldn't be able to hear him if he knocked on the stone wall, so he sincerely hoped that someone would be walking in so they wouldn't have to wait there all night.

To his luck it was a blonde girl who could only be a fourth year who he found walking toward the Slytherin common room. "Excuse me!" Remus said loudly, jogging to catch up with the girl. She turned to stare at him, raising an eyebrow instead of asking what he wanted. "Could you please bring out Camellia Norewood?" he asked, remembering her full name only because Lily had said it earlier.

"What do you want with Camellia?" the girl asked, frowning.

"It's her brother; he-" Remus began, but the girl quickly muttered a word Remus didn't catch and she disappeared into the Slytherin common room.

"Is she going to get Cam?" Max asked softly.

"I hope so," Remus muttered, watching the door with a small frown. He really did not want to be stuck by the Slytherin common room on his first night back, but it was his own fault for bringing the boy there.

A few minutes passed before a girl with auburn hair ran out of the common room with a worried look in her eyes. "Is he hurt?" she asked frantically before spotting Max to Remus' left. "Bloody hell, Max," she whispered, attacking the younger boy with a tight hug.

Remus was surprised, to say the least. He'd never paid attention to the girl before and he'd assumed she was like the other Slytherins, but now he was being forced to watch her. But the way she'd started fussing over Max and asking him what was wrong made him raise an eyebrow. Maybe she really was Slytherin's Mummy…

He forced the thoughts away as he heard the girl say, "Don't be an idiot, Max,"

A few more hushed words were exchanged and Remus heard the name Vaughn a few times, and he assumed he was either their brother or their father. He may remember the older Norewood being at school but there was no reason for him to actually remember the boy's name. Remus found himself staring at the wall, growing rather bored as he wondered what James and Sirius would say to him when he got back to the common room. They'd probably be mad, because they seem to have something against the kid, though Remus wasn't sure what had happened between them.

"Can I sit with you for breakfast?" Max whispered, sending a worried glance in Remus' direction that confused him. He'd done nothing to make the kid worried, so he didn't know what the problem would be.

"Promise you'll try and make some friends of your own soon?" Max nodded and the girl smiled. "Alright then. I'll wait for you outside your common room in the morning. Now go get some sleep; it'll be a long day tomorrow,"

Max nodded and took a step closer to Remus. There was silence in the odd group for a few seconds before Remus cleared his throat. "We should get back; I don't-"

"You two don't need to be caught in the corridors at night and end up in trouble," the girl, Remus knew he should refer to her as Camellia or Norewood but he wasn't used to her yet, said with a small smile. "I assume you want some sort of compensation for bringing him?" she asked, her eyes narrowing as she focused solely on Remus. "Or was it just you being chivalrous?"

Remus stared at her for a second. "Excuse me?"

"Cam what's-" Max began, but she frowned and shook her head.

"Natural response to Gryffindors doing something nice for me or any of us Slytherins. I apologize for that, and I'm grateful you brought him down to see me," she explained quietly. She nodded once at Remus before turning to Max. "I'll see you in the morning. And I'll take care of him; don't worry," She reached out and ruffled his hair before turning around and walking back into her common room.

There was a moment where Max and Remus just stood in the corridor, staring at the stone wall, before Max aimed a relieved smile at Remus. "Thank you," he mumbled. "For bringing me to see her; I wouldn't have known where to go,"

Remus shrugged and smiled in a way he hoped looked natural. "Any time," he said as he led the younger boy back to the common room. Remus sincerely hoped that Max wouldn't take his words seriously because he could already tell that the year wouldn't be good and he wasn't sure if he could handle the drama of a first year as well. He had enough drama with his friends to last him a lifetime.


	3. Chapter 3

Sleep didn't come easily on her first night back, as Camellia had been up until after midnight writing a letter to Vaughn that conveyed how good of a thing it was for Max to be a Gryffindor. Regulus had tried to help by giving some of the arguments his own brother had given, though Camellia knew those would just irritate him. And Regulus was negative about the whole thing anyway, so she hadn't bothered him after that. When she had finally fallen in bed, Camellia had been forced into a nightmare that made sleep seem very unappealing.

When she woke the next morning it was already late and there was a possibility that Max was up and waiting for her outside the Gryffindor common room. With that thought in mind she got ready as quickly as possible and ran up the stairs to reach the portrait. She stood fixing her hair as she watched a portrait of a woman that Severus had told her was the entrance. The portrait seemed fairly happy and she was singing some awful tune, but Camellia wasn't willing to comment on that. She didn't need to make an enemy out of the portrait because she was sure this wouldn't be the only time she waited for Max there.

The Gryffindors that came out gave her dirty looks, which she knew was because of the Slytherin emblem on her robes. She watched them with a cold, practiced expression that Vaughn had taught her when she was a first year. He'd explained the fact that Gryffindors and Slytherins were enemies and that she would be hated by every person in red and gold. So far the only proof that he was wrong was Max, and that was because he was her little brother.

She'd hoped for a while that Vaughn wrong. Camellia had never seen the need for a feud but she knew there was no way around it, so she played along. Not like some of the others who got into actual fights with the Gryffindors, but she was more than willing to glare and watch them with cold eyes. The Gryffindors hated that look because they hated to be looked down upon. It would bother her too, she knew, but no one had ever looked at her like that.

"Well hello,"

Camellia blinked and tore her attention away from the portrait, instead looking at the group of people that had walked out of it. She didn't know them as she hardly paid attention to the seventh years and she could tell they were the ones who were standing in front of her. "Is there something we can do for you? Because if not we don't need you dirtying the space in front of our common room,"

"Trust me, I'm not the-" Camellia began before the seventh years were pushed apart. Camellia folded her arms across her chest and frowned, watching the older students roll their eyes and start to drift away. She locked eyes with Remus Lupin for a moment, who looked like he was going to be sick, before he ran down the stairs and disappeared. Not even a second later his friends were running out too, and for once they didn't even stop to throw a glare in her direction. She raised an eyebrow before Max came out and smile at her. "Ready for breakfast?"

"My first one at Hogwarts," Max said excitedly, nodding. "I hope it's as good as dinner last night; not even Mina cooks that well,"

"Don't you dare let her hear that," Camellia said, rolling her eyes and throwing him a small glare. Max laughed and shook his head to show that he wouldn't actually tell their house elf anything. "So how did your first night go? Was everyone nice?"

She hadn't realized at the time that the simple question would lead her to a half hour long explanation of the boys in Max's dormitory and the first year girl he'd talked to after returning to the common room. It was only when she saw Professor McGonagall walking along the Gryffindor table that she pushed Max away so he could get his schedule. She got her own from Professor Slughorn, who smiled warmly at her before going on to the other students.

Camellia glanced at the Gryffindor table to see Max excitedly talking to his classmates about his schedule, and she smiled because for the first time since getting on the train she was certain that Max would be fine.

Over the course of the next week Camellia fell into a pleasant rhythm. She woke up early each morning so she could get ready and look halfway decent before she would walk up to the portrait of the fat lady to wait for Max. They ate breakfast together and Max told her about all of his classes before he would run off to join his Gryffindor friends. After he left she would go through her own classes and listen to the other Slytherins complain about her spending time with a Gryffindor. And she could even hear some of the Gryffindor boys complaining about her 'tainting their own'. She thought the entire thing was ridiculous but she didn't argue, because arguing meant causing a problem and she wasn't in the mood to do that. After classes she would spend an hour in the library helping Max with homework before she would return to her common room and do her own. It was nice; she definitely hadn't spent that much time with Vaughn when they went to Hogwarts together and Vaughn had been in her own house.

The letter she'd received from Vaughn in response to Max's house was the only thing to irritate her during her first week back. He'd been mad at her despite the fact that she didn't have any control over Max's house, and he'd very clearly stated that she was to make sure he didn't make friends with anyone in his own house and that he was to stick with the Slytherins. She hadn't listened to him because she knew the Gryffindors could make his life hell if he avoided them, and she didn't want him to deal with that. Besides, the first year Slytherins had bonded together on their first night and turned away anyone who approached them so Max had no chance.

He'd also stated that as punishment for her _inability to do anything right_ she was to meet someone for lunch on their first Hogsmeade trip in October. Vaughn knew her feelings on being forced into relationships like most pureblooded girls were at her age, but apparently he no longer cared because he'd set her up with some boy he stated that she knew. He hadn't actually given a name which probably meant he was still looking for someone. Camellia knew she wasn't exactly a catch because most wanted their partners to be silent and willing, which she wasn't always. And she was more attached to family than to her house or anyone else, which would end up being a problem. The whole matter made her uncomfortable; her father had never been one for that kind of conversation because he'd had two sons to think about. And her mother, well, she wasn't always the most observant so she didn't notice what Camellia had wanted. Nor had she really cared.

She hadn't let the letter bother her too much though, as she'd finished reading it and immediately thrown it into the fire. Regulus, who she'd been sitting with when she'd gotten it, had looked mildly amused at the disgusted expression on her face. He hadn't questioned her which was, she realized, part of the reason why she liked him so much.

The second Saturday of the school year was a day of relief for her. She'd finished her assignments for the next few days the previous night so the day was completely her own. Max was busy with his own friends hanging out on the grounds, so Camellia had gone to the group of Ravenclaws she liked to speak to. They seemed happy to see her and they'd finished their assignments as well, so they ended up spending much of their day chatting in the library. Camellia was very willing to have a decent conversation with a girl, because most of the time she was around boys. Which was all good, she was happy with her friends, but talking about silly things like appearances and clothes were appreciated from time to time. Even the Ravenclaws talked about those kinds of things sometimes, though most of their conversations were a little more about intellectual matters.

Though she did feel a little left out during some of the conversation because the Ravenclaw girls had been around each other constantly for six years and Camellia was an outsider. Then again she was an outsider everywhere she went, even with Regulus. He had friends in his own year to pay attention to. And on the off chance she spent time with Severus Snape, which was a very rare thing indeed, he had his own gang as well. The only place she felt she truly belonged was with her family, and that had been falling apart for the last two years. Ever since her-

"Camellia you look like you're going to be sick," one of the girls, Anna, whispered. She was looking at Camellia with a concerned expression, as Camellia had paled at her thoughts. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she answered shortly, frustrated with herself for her tone. She knew that she should have been kinder, as Anna was only expressing concern, but she was still wary of people from other houses doing that. "Sorry, just a bad train of thought," she said, trying to explain her actions. Camellia usually tried to avoid doing that, but the Ravenclaws were nice enough to put up with her and she didn't like lying to them.

"As long as you're all right," Anna smiled before suddenly addressing the group and changing the topic to some of the magical creatures they'd seen in Care of Magical Creatures, which was a topic Camellia could add to very well. She wasn't half bad at the class though it was nowhere near her best, but the Ravenclaws seemed to appreciate what she was saying. It was moments like those that made hanging with the Ravenclaws worth it.

Her day ended with a surprise trip to the Astronomy Tower with the Ravenclaws which Camellia realized was some sort of party with a few members of other houses. Julie Andrews, the Hufflepuff prefect she got along with, was there with some friends of her own though she did wave. Camellia quickly became aware that she as the only Slytherin there to celebrate the completion of their first full week of school, which made her uncomfortable. She didn't mind events like this but when she was the only Slytherin and there were Gryffindors in attendance it made her feel awkward and she absolutely hated that feeling. Her decision to leave came when one of the Gryffindor girls produced a bottle of firewhiskey and a Ravenclaw boy had spilled his glass all over the front of her shirt. She'd never tried the alcohol before and she definitely didn't intend to that night. Vaughn would be furious he if got a letter from the school saying she'd been caught at a party with alcohol and was covered in the substance as well. He'd probably try to pull her out of school.

She walked through the corridors quietly, as it was after hours and she knew there were teachers and prefects walking around. She would probably be lucky enough to run into a prefect from another house who would gladly give her detention; Vaughn would be furious then as well. Either way, she didn't need a detention after only a week and a half of school. Camellia rarely got detentions anyway and she found them to be a major waste of time. She wasn't like the Gryffindor boys in her year, as they seemed to have detentions every week. Well, Remus Lupin didn't but the others did.

Remus Lupin had finally started to interest Camellia. It was probably because she'd heard stories from Max about how he'd offered his own help with Max's essays when Max couldn't come to her. That or that Max constantly talked about the boy because he looked up to him in the same way that Vaughn had looked up to Lucius Malfoy. It was a curious situation as Max hadn't even known Remus for that long, but he did talk about him a lot. In all honesty it was starting to irritate her and Camellia could even admit to herself that she was a little jealous, but she refused to let Max know because she didn't want to make anything hard for him.

The corridors, she'd learned, were very peaceful at night. Camellia had always appreciated quiet, so the fact that all she could hear was the sound of her own footsteps and breath made her feel more comfortable than the stupid party she'd attended. She'd been worried about being caught at first but Camellia knew that was silly now; she'd always had a knack for Disillusionment charms. And there was always a chance that she could talk her way out of the situation. She'd done that once before, when she was a second year. Though now that she thought about it that was probably because Vaughn was a prefect and tended to take away a lot of points for small things.

She only stopped walking toward her common room when she heard the sound of heavy breathing and muffled laughter. Camellia was already in the dungeons at that point so she wasn't sure who would be laughing, because the Slytherins tended to spend their time in the common room. Especially if they were laughing like that; whoever it was sounded ridiculous. It was with a small sigh that Camellia remembered she'd once laughed like that, along with Vaughn and Max. It had been a few years since she'd really felt free enough to laugh like that. Which wasn't to say that she didn't laugh at all, but that _not a care in the world_ sound was no longer something she could produce.

Camellia wasn't usually a very curious person, but to her surprise she actually tried to get closer to the source of the laughter, just to see who could be so happy. And, she realized, she should have known who she would find. The popular group of Gryffindor boys-she refused to use their silly nickname most of the time-were huddled near the opposite end of the corridor she was standing in, not far from the Slytherin common room. It looked like Sirius Black was the one having the hardest time containing his laughter, though James Potter wasn't far behind him. Peter Pettigrew looked slightly nervous though still like he'd enjoyed himself. Remus Lupin was there as well and while he was smiling Camellia thought he looked kind of tired. "They'll have a fit when they see this," Sirius said, obviously trying to keep quiet but failing.

"I can't _wait_ to see their faces at breakfast tomorrow. We're staying in the great hall until every last one of them comes down," James added, sounding incredibly proud of himself.

"I just hope the charm holds until morning," Remus added thoughtfully.

"Of course it will, Moony. Your charms always hold," Peter smiled, patting the taller boy's shoulder.

"Thanks Pete," Remus whispered.

"Come on, before Lily catches us. She did it all the time last year; spoiled so much fun," James said, holding up what looked like a cloak. Camellia watched as the four boys tried to fit themselves under it. Most of their bodies had disappeared but Camellia could clearly see their feet and part of their legs. For a moment she just watched, mesmerized, before she realized that the feet were coming closer to her.

She hurried to cast the Disillusionment charm on herself before pressing herself against the wall in the shadows, hoping that the boys wouldn't stop and notice her. They didn't, to her luck, and she heard them whispering to each other as they passed. Once she was sure they were gone Camellia hurried to her common room and stepped in, sighing as she removed the charm on her and saw the room. It wasn't the first time the Gryffindor boys had changed the color of something belonging to Slytherins, but it was the first time they'd gone after the entire common room. Every inch of it was covered in red and gold, instead of the usual silver and green that Camellia was used to.

It was obvious to her now what the boys had been talking about. Her housemates would throw an absolute fit if they saw what the common room had become and then it would be all out war between the two houses. As much as Camellia didn't want to get involved, she also didn't want to see what that war would look like. That was how she found herself trying to change the lions that had taken over the house crest back into snakes, and the red and gold furniture back into something green and silver. It wasn't too hard, even though it had been Remus Lupin who she was sure cast the spells. Once she was satisfied with her work she hurried upstairs to get to bed, as she would barely get any sleep before someone tried to wake her up to go to breakfast. The worst part was that Max wanted to eat with his friends on the weekend, so she would probably end up by herself. Regulus always ate with his friends on Sundays and Camellia wasn't willing to find another spot.

The next morning it was Cassandra, a red haired girl in her year, that woke her up as she was leaving their dormitory. The other girls never really bothered with her but Camellia didn't mind too much. It wasn't like she tried with them either. She took her time getting ready that morning, as Vaughn would probably find out from some source if she was dressing like a slob, before she left to go to the great hall. It was only when she entered and saw the Gryffindor boys looking around with confused expressions that she remembered the events of the previous night.

Camellia smiled knowingly before she seated herself at the Slytherin table and began to eat. About halfway through the meal Vaughn's owl landed in front of her with two packages and a letter. The letter was obviously from her brother, explaining that he expected reports on her marks in classes at the end of each month and that she was responsible for getting Max's as well. Failing in this task would result in some idiotic punishment that Camellia didn't want to find out about. The other part of the letter informed her that the smaller package was for Max and the larger was for her. It was a dress, she'd read, because Vaughn knew none of her clothes were decent enough to wear to lunch with a possible suitor. She was offended by that statement but there was no way she was going to argue with Vaughn about it. He was probably right anyway.

She held her own package tightly to her chest and grabbed Max's. He was sitting near the teacher's table so she walked to him, smiling and quietly explaining that it was a present from Vaughn. Camellia didn't know what it was and she could only hope it wasn't something that would cause problems with his friends.

She left after a few minutes of discussion with her brother, though she stopped about halfway down the table when she saw the confused group of sixth years huddled together. Camellia knew she should have left them alone because they had no desire to deal with her and she had no desire to speak to them, but she wanted them to know that it was her who'd gotten rid of their prank. There was no reason for her to feel that way, because she'd never wanted something like that before, but she knew she'd probably never have the opportunity to stun the boys again.

"Nice try, by the way," she commented, standing behind James and Sirius. They whipped around to look at her and Remus and Peter both looked at her in surprise. It was the first time she'd ever approached them because she'd wanted to, and it would probably never happen again. She was afraid she would go a little red with the way they were looking at her, but she kept a calm expression on her face. "With that silly little prank of yours. I thought you'd be capable of something greater than that,"

"What are you-" Sirius began, looking at her angrily.

Camellia fought the urge to smirk; she hated making that face. They'd probably thought the spell had worn off, just like they'd been worried about. "Maybe next time you discuss your excitement in a corridor, you should check to see if there's anyone else there. And nice cloak, Potter; I'm sure the professors would be pleased to know how you four get around,"

She walked away, knowing that they were looking at her angrily and with their mouths hanging open. Camellia knew that she'd just made herself a target in their minds, but she didn't care. She was feeling quite proud of the fact that she'd been able to leave the group speechless. Not that she intended on speaking to them again; she'd probably be pranked at some point in the day in a silly attempt to put her back in her place. Or at least where they thought she should be. And she never really wanted to speak to them again. Vaughn was right; they were trouble and Camellia wanted no part of that.


	4. Chapter 4

For two _bloody_ weeks Camellia Norewood was the topic of conversation among his friends. And Remus was absolutely sick of hearing about how much the girl needed to be put in her place, or whatever stupid thing his friends were going on about, all because she'd ruined some prank they'd tried to pull. That wasn't even the part that was bothering him the most; what really irritated him was that Max Norewood, her younger brother, went on and on about how great she was and how he couldn't understand why she seemed to be an enemy to the rest of the Gryffindors. Remus really didn't mind the first year, he enjoyed his company actually, but he was sick of hearing about Camellia Norewood. She hadn't ever approached them in the five years they'd gone to Hogwarts together and the one time she did, it made things unbearable for him. He was furious with her, and Remus hardly even paid attention to her.

He couldn't count on both hands the number of times he'd stormed away from his friends while they made idiotic plans to get revenge for their prank being ruined. They'd taken it as a personal offense that she would even consider ruining what they'd done. Remus was the one who should actually be upset because it was his spell that he'd worked hard on to perfect, but they didn't care about that. They were incredibly childish about the whole thing, but Remus didn't bother to try and correct their behavior. After five years he knew there was no chance for them to grow up. Which, he thought as he sat studying on what could be the coldest day they'd had so far, was part of the reason why he loved his friends so dearly.

Remus was trying hard to focus on his Transfiguration homework. He'd neglected to do that for possibly the first time ever because he'd been helping Max with his Defense essay, which was something he did from time to time, and then he'd had to go on a patrol with Lily. By the time he'd sat down on the sofa in the common room with his textbook he'd pretty much passed out. When he'd woken early the next morning there was a blanket carefully placed on top of him and his textbook and essay had been set on the small table next to him. He knew immediately that it was Sirius or James, because it wasn't the first time that had happened. But it was the first time he'd freaked out because the assignment was particularly challenging and he wasn't sure if could do it as easily as he normally did. Which had led him to avoiding his friend's pleas to hang out and he'd gone outside to work on it.

Not long after he'd gone outside he'd been joined by about fifty other students, but at least they avoided sitting near him. That was all he really needed to have happen. If people could just avoid him then Remus knew he would be able to- "-wrote me yesterday," Remus caught as a group of Slytherins passed by. "-Pathetic girl can't even get a date by herself," He recognized the voice as Evan Rosier's, though the girl they were talking about remained a mystery that Remus didn't care about. The only reason he'd even started listening was because he was getting bored just sitting there and scribbling on a sheet of parchment. It was _pointless_. There was no way he would be able to finish the essay without losing his mind.

Remus packed up and began the journey back to the Gryffindor common room. His friends would most likely be there or in the kitchens-he swore sometimes they ate their weight in one day-but he didn't want to carry a textbook around the entire day when he ended up running off with them.

The corridors were surprisingly full as he tried to make his way through them. To some it was probably too cold to go out to the grounds, though Remus thought that was particularly wimpy, and others just didn't like going outside period. Though why that meant half the student body was grouped outside the great hall was beyond Remus. There was nothing interesting about that spot, so he was slightly amused by the gathering. Until, of course, he heard a sudden shout of, "Camellia!" The voice was not one he recognized so Remus assumed it wasn't someone from his own house. He realized he was right when he pushed his way to the front and saw Sirius' brother with one hand holding Camellia Norewood's wrist and the other pulling his wand out. "What the hell is _wrong_ with you?" he yelled angrily.

He didn't understand how that girl had suddenly brought attention to herself after Remus hadn't noticed her for five years, but he had to admit she was doing a damn good job of it. The expression on her face was simply one of shock though Remus was half sure he saw something resembling fear in her wide blue eyes. It surprised him slightly that her eyes were almost exactly like Max's, only just a little darker of a shade. Though what really surprised him was the fact that he was even bothering to pay attention to the eye color of the Slytherin girl. She was dripping wet, which made the entire thing kind of funny, though there were splashes of red on her legs and hands. He had no idea what had happened but Remus was glad he'd missed it; there was a good chance people standing too close would have gotten hit with whatever had been thrown or dropped on the girl. "Next time don't mess with us, Norewood," Sirius shouted out in warning, though his voice was filled with glee.

Regulus Black looked like he wanted desperately to say something at that moment, but Camellia beat him to it. "Go to _hell_ Black," she said, her voice venomous. " _All_ of you, I hope you _all_ -" She stopped herself suddenly, closing her eyes for a moment before she turned on her heel and marched away with all the dignity Remus was sure she could muster. He didn't know why she hadn't finished her statement because she'd had every opportunity to chew his friends out, but she'd just stopped. The simple act of doing that intrigued him slightly, though Remus knew he could never ask her because of his friends.

He made his way through the slowly disbanding crowd of people to where James and Sirius stood laughing like idiots and Peter was laughing nervously as well. "Care to explain that?"

"Payback, my dear Remus," Sirius said, trying not to laugh as James snorted. "For ruining our positively delightful prank two weeks ago,"

"What did you do to her?" he asked curiously, wondering how his friends had actually come up with the plan without letting Remus in on it in some way.

"Really it was only just some water," Peter mumbled, smiling slightly.

"And a bit of paint," James threw in.

"Complete, of course, with those wonderful firecrackers I found in London this past summer," Sirius laughed.

"I see," Remus said, laughing slightly himself. "How did you manage to get those into the castle? Anything related to fireworks isn't allowed in,"

"I have my ways," Sirius said cheekily, rolling his eyes. "I just can't get her face out of my mind when they went off," He was smiling in a rather odd way, but Remus decided not to comment on it.

"Her face? Try that idiotic little scream she made," James smiled.

"I wish you'd seen it, Remus," Peter said. "It really was great,"

"At least you've decided to join us once more and ditch that silly book,"

Remus was about to respond when he realized that Max was standing slightly behind Sirius and James, looking furious. He was glaring at all of them, even Remus despite the fact that he'd really had nothing to do with the prank. For a moment he thought Max was going to speak up, but instead he turned away and ran up the stairs.

He'd quickly gone from feeling fine with what had happened to feeling awful. Remus didn't even know why his emotions had switched so quickly because the kid got on his nerves from time to time, but the look on his face when he realized that Remus' hadn't stopped the whole thing from happening made him feel like the worst person in the world. He'd never known the face of an eleven year old could hold so much anger, but it had and Remus wasn't sure what to make of that. "Max!" he called, starting toward the stairs himself so he could try to make things right with the younger Gryffindor.

"Remus why do you even care? Just let him go; he'll get over it and you'll have to start helping him with homework again," James said, shrugging.

"But he-" Remus tried, attempting to get his arm out of James' grasp.

"Let him go, mate. He probably doesn't want to deal with you right now anyways. After all, you did just have a part in _humiliating_ his sister and he worships her from what I've seen,"

"I didn't _do_ anything," he protested angrily, watching his friends roll their eyes.

"Yeah, Moony, but he doesn't know that," Sirius said.

"So let me tell him,"

"Remus can't you just do that later? We've wanted to have you around all day but you've been avoiding us," Peter said. It was his argument that made Remus sigh, because he did miss his friends and he didn't feel like running after a first year.

"Just stay with us, okay? That kid will be there tonight,"

"His name's Max," Remus muttered, though it was the last thing even close to an argument that he made.

Much of their afternoon was spent in the kitchens, hiding out from Professor Slughorn. From what they'd heard he'd been incredibly angry upon learning that one of his students had been pranked, and he wanted to give out detentions to every person who'd seen it and done nothing to help. Which was impossible, Remus was sure, but his friends had decided that hanging out in the kitchens and casually talking about whatever came to mind was safer than wandering the corridors and possibly running into the angry man. He agreed with their judgment on the matter, as Remus had no desire to get a detention.

Overall, it wasn't too awful of a day. Remus had gotten a decent amount of work done, he'd enjoyed his time with his friends, and he'd even talked Max into forgiving him before the younger boy went to bed. And then things calmed down.

Remus continued to help Max with his homework and he found that he genuinely enjoyed the youngest Norewood's company. Every now and then Max would ask Remus to take a walk with him and they would end up talking about whatever was bothering him at that moment. Camellia Norewood once again slipped into the shadows, and Remus was sure half of the reason why she did that was because of embarrassment over what his friends had done to her. Remus, however, didn't forget about the girl like everyone else seemed to. Because for some reason, in the back of his mind, he couldn't let himself believe that she was really that bad. He was holding onto that image of her running out of her common room on their first night when she thought something had happened to Max. Thinking about her every now and then, though it was usually brought on by Max, did not mean that he intended to talk to her.

And his plan worked wonderfully until a few days before the full moon in the beginning of October.

Remus had woken up early, which had to be a product of going to sleep early as well. He'd canceled his study session with Max and had gotten one of the Ravenclaw prefects to switch patrols with him because he'd been exhausted. There was no reason for feeling that way as he didn't feel sick and he'd gotten plenty of sleep the previous night, but Remus didn't mind getting more rest.

It had been over a week since he'd last written his mother and they had an agreement about writing at least four times a month. He knew if he didn't write one soon then he wouldn't get to it and then there would be an argument over Christmas. So really he was just saving himself the trouble by waking up early and writing a letter. And while Remus knew he could just borrow James' owl which tended to live in their dormitory, the walk and the fresh air he would get while in the Owlery sounded nice.

When he finally reached the Owlery, where soft hoots could be clearly heard, Remus immediately decided to duck behind a tall pillar. He'd seen Max being hugged tightly by Camellia and he didn't want to interrupt. Max probably wouldn't be mad at him but Remus couldn't say the same for his older sister. She'd probably try and hex him because he'd simply walked up at the wrong time. "But it's not _fair_ ," he heard Max complain, his voice trembling. "He can't expect you to just-"

"Don't worry about it," Camellia whispered, a soothing tone to her voice that Remus was pleased to hear. She was actually very good with her younger brother, which wasn't something Remus had expected. "I'll take care of everything, Max, just focus on school, all right?"

"But you said they're bad, Cam. You can't-"

"Shh," she whispered, and Remus was sure she'd grabbed her brother and held him tighter. "Let me worry, okay? I'll be fine,"

There were more hushed words that Remus found it harder to hear, but he didn't want to move and end up getting caught. He knew he shouldn't have been eavesdropping but he'd made his choice and there wasn't a way he could just change his mind now. After a few more minutes Remus saw Max leave in a hurry, looking nervous about whatever they'd been discussing. He fully expected Camellia to walk past too, but instead a wand was pressed into his back. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I was just-" Remus began, turning around and looking at her with a bit of shame clear on his face.

"What did you hear?"

"Nothing, I-"

"Then what were you doing hiding that awfully?"

"I-I just wanted-Can you lower your wand, please?" he asked, watching her wipe at her eyes before he realized that she looked ready to cry. To his surprise she did as he asked and folded her arms across her chest, looking at him skeptically. "I came to send a letter to my mother. I saw you and Max and I didn't want to disturb you. All I heard was that something about things not being fair and you telling him not to worry,"

Camellia Norewood was silent for a few seconds, and she stared at him in a way that was beginning to make Remus uncomfortable. Maybe it was because her mouth was in such a thin line that it looked unnatural, though that was just a possibility. "Quit eavesdropping, Lupin. It doesn't suit you," she said stiffly before walked away once more.

Remus was content to let her go. He wanted to send his letter off and he didn't want to deal with her anyway, but something made him call out, "What, exactly, is unfair?"

She stopped and faced him again, raising an eyebrow and frowning. "That's none of your business," she stated.

"I realize, but whoever said curiosity is a bad thing?"

"It is. Now leave me alone, Lupin,"

She turned away from him again and started down the steps leading away from the Owlery. Remus watched her for a moment, thinking about how cold she'd been and wondering what she wanted to keep secret so badly. After a moment he hurried to the steps and frowned slightly. "If it is unfair," he said loudly, "I'm sure there's someone who could help you. With whatever it is,"

"There's no help for someone like me," she said quietly, so Remus almost missed the words. They only served to make him more curious about the girl than he'd ever been before. Which, he knew, was not a good thing. "Now leave me alone, Lupin. I'm sick of interacting with you,"

"You don't have to be so nasty," he muttered, turning around and walking over to an owl. He gave it a treat that he'd stolen from James before letting the bird take the letter in its beak and fly away. He was ready to go back to his dormitory and wake up his friends, because they would be insufferable if they were late for breakfast. For a few seconds Remus was sure she'd come storming back to tell him how wrong he was, but the Owlery stayed empty. She'd left, without giving him another thought. He wasn't bothered by that, after all _he_ definitely tried not to think about her, but something about the interaction made him feel odd. He was sure she would have felt the same, but she obviously wasn't as curious about why he got the feeling as he was.

Upon arriving back in his dormitory Remus was met with loud laughter. At least, he realized, he wouldn't have to deal with waking them up. They could be horrors in the morning, especially Sirius. Peter was the best, he knew, because as long as he was dressed in five minutes he was willing to help. Peter always was a sweet guy, timid as he could be, and Remus was just as proud to call him a friend as he was to call James and Sirius friends. He sometimes worried that Peter didn't realize how much they loved him because James and Sirius couldn't go a day without teasing him, but Remus tried. He was sure that was what mattered.

"Merlin, Remus, what were you doing out of the dormitory at this ungodly hour?" James asked as Remus pushed the door open.

"It's half past seven," Remus said, rolling his eyes.

"The only reason we're up is because Pete here saw a rat and screamed. Rather ironic, isn't it?" Sirius asked, punching Peter's shoulder lightly and smirking.

"It was _not_ a _rat_ , I'm not afraid of _rats_ you idiots," Peter said indignantly. "I'm fairly sure it was someone's cat,"

"There's not a cat in here, Peter," James said, rolling his eyes and smiling. "It's okay, you were scared by your own kind. Sometimes I get spooked by deer,"

Peter hesitated before asking, "Really?"

"Of course not," James laughed, throwing an arm around Peter's shoulder and walking him out of the dormitory.

"Shall we then?" Remus asked.

"Of course, Moony, I'm dying of hunger," Sirius said dramatically before he grabbed Remus' hand and pulled him to the great hall for breakfast.


	5. Chapter 5

Under no circumstances did Camellia Norewood want to go to Hogsmeade. It was their first visit of the year and she knew that she should be excited, because Hogsmeade trips usually meant that she could spend a whole uninterrupted day with Regulus and she absolutely loved those days. But after getting confirmation from Vaughn that she was actually going to be forced into a date, Camellia knew there was no way she would be spending time with Regulus until at least dinner.

She'd never actually been on a date before, so she wasn't sure what to expect. Nor was she sure exactly what she was supposed to wear. Other could probably go to the other girls in their dormitory or their friends, but Camellia knew that wasn't a possibility. The Ravenclaws she was friends with were probably busy getting ready themselves and she didn't feel like bothering them. And she didn't exactly get along well with the girls in her dormitory, so they were out as well.

Camellia preferred pants, there was no question about that. She found them far more comfortable than the skirts they were expected to wear during school so they tended to be her top choice. But as she stood anxiously in front of her mirror-because if she had to go on the damn date she was at least going to look nice-she couldn't help but think of the dress Vaughn had sent her weeks ago. It wasn't something she would ever pick out for herself, but if the boy she was meeting was anything like Vaughn then he would probably like it. The dress itself was a blue that matched her eyes and it was a decent enough length, though it was a little shorter than she would have liked. And it was a little lower cut than she normally would wear. But, it was a decent enough thing to wear on a first date. Though Camellia hoped that it would also be the last date.

She was sure that it would be one of the Slytherin boys in her year, which was not a pleasant thought. She wasn't a huge fan of any of the boys, though she did find Severus to be a little more tolerable than the rest. Which did not mean she wanted it to be him, but he would be the best outcome. Her main problem was that she had no choice in the matter; her future was being decided for her and she absolutely despised that. Her brother was already arranging her dates; the next step would be arranging a wedding and then she'd have to have kids and produce an heir and if she didn't…

Camellia closed her eyes and shook her head after putting on the dress. If she didn't stop thinking like that then she would never be able to go meet whoever the boy was by the entrance. Vaughn would murder her if she didn't, for disgracing the family name. She ran a brush through her hair and looked in the mirror once more before leaving her dormitory. She made it to the common room and found Regulus on the couch and immediately sat down next to him because he was alone. "I look ridiculous," she said quietly, looking at him with worried eyes.

"Cam you'll be fine. I'm sure whoever it is will appreciate that you tried," he said mockingly, smirking at her. "Not everyone can pull off a girly thing and get away with it,"

"You're awful," she muttered, shoving him to the side. Normally she would laugh at a comment like that, but she was too nervous. Of course when she actually left Regulus' side she couldn't let anyone else see that. All she could be to them was a stuck up, cold hearted Slytherin. No emotions were needed and she would be made fun of if they were shown.

"Whoever meets you at the entrance is going to be speechless. You'll be fine," he said again, smiling sadly at her. "Look, I know you don't want this but maybe it's for the best. It'll take one thing off your plate, so you don't have to be one of those girls constantly asking why no one wants to date them. There'll be no questions in this,"

"Are you implying that no one would want to date me of their own free will?"

"Possibly," Regulus said, smirking again. He looked a hell of a lot like his brother when he did that and it irritated her, though Camellia avoided mentioning that because Regulus didn't get along with his brother at all.

"Great friend you are," she commented. "I'll see you at dinner; it won't look good if I'm late,"

And with that Camellia left the Slytherin common room and the comfort of having Regulus by her side. The walk to the entrance hall was lonely and uncomfortable, because people stared at her when she passed them by. Despite her actions at the beginning of the year Camellia really didn't like attention, so the stares made her feel like an awkward teenage girl. Which, she knew, she was, but usually she could push that down far enough so it wasn't a present fact in her mind. When she actually got to the entrance hall she straightened her back to stand as tall as possibly before settling an indifferent expression on her face. Camellia chose to stare at the wall above the heads of most so she wouldn't accidentally look anyone in the eyes and she waited for someone to approach her.

When someone did, it wasn't who she expected.

The first person to come over to her was Julie, who was complimenting her on her dress before being pulled away by her other friends. The next was a boy from Ravenclaw, who actually tried hitting on her before he realized it wasn't going to work. Next was her favorite visitor, though she should have known what he wanted. "Can you please buy me Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans while you're in Hogsmeade? I know they're there, I heard people talking about a candy store," Max said eagerly, ignoring the odd looks he was receiving from the older students. They probably thought he was going to try to sneak out to Hogsmeade with them because he was a Gryffindor and Gryffindors were known for doing reckless things. Camellia knew better than that though, and she also knew her brother's favorite kind of candy.

"We'll see," she smiled, looking anxiously around the group of students. Her date was supposed to have been there five minutes ago, she was beginning to worry that she was going to be stood up. "If I have time to stop at Honeydukes I'll get you some, okay?"

"Thanks Cam," Max said, hugging her tightly before running off.

She continued to wait. Eventually Remus Lupin came down with his friends, laughing loudly, and Camellia attempted to shrink back to avoid being noticed. She still hadn't forgiven James, Sirius, Peter, and Remus for pranking her even though it was harmless and she would have laughed if it had been anyone else. Remus caught her eye though, and frowned slightly when he saw her, but Camellia tried not to think about that.

"What the hell are you hiding from?" Camellia jumped at the voice and turned around to see Evan Rosier standing behind her. "Don't tell me you're afraid of those idiotic Gryffindors. I expected more of you,"

"Of course I'm not afraid of them," she said defensively, watching Evan raise an eyebrow. _Don't sound like that_ she chided herself silently. She didn't want this, but she couldn't ruin it and annoy everyone involved. "I didn't know it would be you," she said, trying to sound nicer.

"I wasn't jumping to tell you," he stated, offering her his arm and leading her out of the castle. "My father owed yours a favor, and now that he's dead the favor was passed to your brother. This is what he chose. We'll see where we're supposed to go with it,"

"Of course," Camellia said quietly, dropping her gaze to the ground as they walked toward the small town. "I wouldn't expect anything else,"

"Good," Evan said, nodding and leading her into the Three Broomsticks. "We're meant to spend the day together, so I suppose we should find something to talk about,"

Camellia hesitated, taking her seat in the small booth and folding her hands in her lap. "What are your plans after Hogwarts?" she asked, knowing it was a rather generic question but unsure of what else she could ask. For at least an hour she listened to Evan talk about his plans, explaining to her about how he worshipped Voldemort and adored what he was doing. She also heard about how he would take over some business from his father when the time came, but other than that he would basically be living off his parent's money. Camellia wasn't thrilled at hearing that, but she smiled politely and nodded along. Evan obviously had no interest in her, but she wasn't going to push him away. She couldn't cause a problem.

"It would be polite to ask about what your plans for the future are," Evan said eventually.

She assumed that was her invitation to actually speak, so she tried to come up with an answer that he was find suitable. As much as she hated to admit it, there was probably no real chance for her to have a decent career because of what was expected of her. She hadn't really thought about it, which is why she'd told Professor Slughorn she had no idea what she wanted to be when he'd asked during her career meeting. "I feel it's rather obvious what my future will be," she stated, watching him frown. "I'll be a wife and a mother, and I'll take care of the home when the house elves prove incompetent," The words sounded vile as she said them and Camellia felt sick at them, but they brought a smile to Evan's face and their date improved after that. Evan seemed more willing to let her speak every now and then, which Camellia did appreciate.

The entire time she knew she wasn't being herself. There was no way she could stand to just sit in a house and be a mother; she didn't even know if she truly wanted children in her future. There was no way she looked down on muggles the way Evan did, but if it made him happy she knew what she had to do. She may be a bit of an outcast among the Slytherins, but Camellia knew how to act like a pureblood when need be. Vaughn would be pleased, and then maybe he wouldn't want her to join him for a Death Eater meeting.

The pair finished their butterbeers and lunches, and to Camellia's delight Evan wanted to go to Honeydukes. She hadn't been keen on asking to go to the candy store to get Max's candy, but now she could without mentioning that it was for her brother. Evan seemed to hate Gryffindors; they'd passed plenty and he'd glared at each of them. "Are you sure," Evan began as they approached the front of the store to pay, "that you really need three boxes of those beans and chocolate frogs?" he asked. Camellia glanced at the candy in her arms; there were only two chocolate frogs that she loved and the rest were for Max.

"Excuse me?"

"Camellia you're not much of a looker to begin with," he stated, frowning at her. "You don't need candy. It will only make you gain weight and you're already heavier than I'd expect you to be,"

The person behind them suddenly began coughing and Camellia fought to keep her cheeks from going red. "They're not for me," she explained quietly. "And I-I thought-" the coughing continued and Camellia whirled around, feeling irrationally angry. "Will you _please_ shut up?" she snapped. "If you're going to choke, at least have the decency to- _Lupin_?"

The realization that it was someone who'd probably tell Max what had happened made her feel worse than she already did. Max didn't need to know how the day had gone; he didn't need to hear the kind of things she would be told for the rest of her life if she was set up with Evan. "Norewood," Remus said, staring at her in disbelief. "What's-"

"May I have a word with you?" she asked quickly, shoving the candy into Evan's arms and dragging the Gryffindor out of the store. He'd dropped everything he'd been holding-which mirrored her own selections-and allowed himself to follow her to the alley next to the store. "If you tell Max a word-a _word_ -of what you just heard then I swear I will hex you into-"

"How are you just going to let him talk to you like that?" Remus asked, probably not bothering to remember that he wasn't supposed to care. "How could _you_ of all people let him-"

"It's none of your business," she snapped. "Just swear to me you won't mention this to Max. He doesn't need to know,"

Camellia stared at him, her expression cold. Internally she was just begging him to agree and to keep her secret, but Camellia wasn't going to beg anyone for anything. "Alright, I guess, but-"

She nodded once and turned away from him and went back to Evan. He'd already paid for Max's candy but apparently he'd put her chocolate back. Camellia chose not to comment on that, because she didn't want to cause any more of a problem than she already had. "Thank you for buying this," she said, smiling widely at Evan who grimaced down at her. She didn't notice Remus Lupin walk back into the store, because at that point Evan had already started talking about something else and she didn't want to upset him by not listening. For the rest of her day, she felt completely pathetic.

Until, of course, Evan bid her goodbye with a kiss on the cheek which only made her blush as she walked back toward Hogwarts. Evan wanted to meet up with his friends but Camellia had no interest in tagging along; she wanted to give Max his candy and then she wanted to go find Julie and complain about how awful Evan Rosier was. She would do so with Regulus but her words would probably end up back in Evan's ear and she didn't need that. The first thing she did upon returning to the castle was go back to her dormitory and change out of the dress Vaughn had sent her. She felt a little more normal after that, and her next task was to find Julie. The first place she looked was by the Hufflepuff common room, though when she'd asked she'd been shot down very quickly, which probably had to do with the fact that she was in Slytherin. She checked the library next, only to once again be let down though Regulus was there and he waved at her when she passed. After a while of searching she found Julie near the quidditch pitch, but she was with a large group of girls that made Camellia feel uncomfortable so she quickly walked away.

She chose to sit by the Black Lake and read, because Camellia was a fan of the cooler weather and she did enjoy books. She lost herself in one after summoning it from her dormitory, until an owl landed in front of her and pecked her hand. "Hey-Nipper?" she asked, recognizing Vaughn's owl immediately. Camellia thought the name was silly, but Vaughn said it suited the barn owl because he tended to nip at fingers if he didn't get a treat. "What have I done now?" she muttered, taking the letter attached to the bird's leg and waving him away. She didn't plan on responding to Vaughn; his letters tended to irritate her. But she had to at least read it, so she knew what he wanted with her. It read:

 _Camellia,_

 _I do hope you've enjoyed your date with Evan Rosier. I thought he would be a good match for you, and hopefully he will be able to keep you in line. I always liked him when I attended Hogwarts, because he seemed to value everything that I do. I've heard word from his father and apparently Evan enjoyed your company as well, though he complained that you did some inappropriate things, so we'll need to correct your behavior on that matter. Things should progress nicely for the two of you; I expect Evan will be asking you on a second date soon enough._

 _First of all, Evan mentioned to his father that you talked to a half blood while on your date. I can attempt to understand why you would do such a thing at any other time, but when you are with him you need to refrain from speaking to those beneath you. Especially if you choose to leave your own date to go off with them. It is completely unacceptable. Though, at least it wasn't a filthy mudblood. Secondly, he was upset with your purchase of candy so I'll ask you not to make such a simply mistake. You must keep up appearances, my dearest sister, otherwise it will be so hard to find you a husband. Though I do hope that Evan will be the one. It will be so much easier for me if I don't have to worry about you getting in trouble with speaking out of line or doing something irresponsible. However Evan greatly appreciated your answer on your future plans and he did mention that you looked nice in your dress. I congratulate you on that._

 _Remember, if you want this relationship to work-and I do encourage you to try because I will not be thrilled if you fail-you must be obedient. Do things that will make him happy and will still make you look respectable. As much as I need this to work, you cannot allow yourself to ruin the family name. There is not a lot I can do to help with that from here, though Evan has agreed to report back to me after each of your dates, so I'll tell you what you've done wrong. Hopefully with that, you won't screw up too badly._

 _Don't forget that you're attending a meeting with me when you come home for Christmas. Keep your grades up, and make sure Max does the same._

 _Vaughn_

Camellia frowned and pulled out her wand, quietly watching the letter burn. Really, it was the best reaction she could have had because that stupid note made her furious. She'd been on her best behavior and she hadn't done anything wrong, yet Vaughn and apparently Evan weren't happy with how she'd acted. Apparently the version of herself that she despised wasn't horrible enough for other people. She wasn't sure exactly who she was either, but Camellia knew that Evan and her brother would hate that version too.

She sighed heavily and stood up, brushing herself off to head to the great hall. She would keep the letter to herself, because Max would be furious if he heard about it and Regulus would probably laugh himself silly. Camellia started walking back to the castle, using her wand to send her book back to her dormitory, before she was stopped by another owl. She didn't recognize it and it didn't look like a school owl, though it was carrying a package addressed to her. Camellia took it gingerly and frowned before opening the box. Inside were two chocolate frogs, and a note that read, _**Thought you'd enjoy these; they're my favorite as well.**_ There was no sender, and Camellia spent the rest of the night wondering who in their right mind would want to send her chocolate. A small part of her was sure it was Remus Lupin, but he would never do something like that for someone like her.


	6. Chapter 6

Remus had never truly hated anyone before, because hate made him feel disgusting. He strongly disliked the werewolf that had bit him when he was a child, but Remus didn't even hate _him_. He could understand the madness that consumed his kind when the full moon came around. But for the past few weeks after their first Hogsmeade visit, he'd felt nothing but pure, slightly terrifying hate for Evan Rosier. The idiotic Slytherin was completely evil, in Remus' opinion. Before he'd never paid much attention to the boy because most of the attention went to Severus Snape, but after hearing all of the inappropriate, awful things he'd said to Camellia Norewood at Honeydukes, Remus had started watching him. Apparently the two were dating now, because he'd noticed Rosier gripping Camellia's arm in a possessive manner on more than one occasion. He kissed her cheek, every now and then, and that only made Remus hate him more because she looked uncomfortable every time that happened.

It was Max's fault. If Max had been content to talk about _anything_ else then Remus wouldn't have paid his sister any attention. But that _damned_ first year just kept going on and on about the Slytherin and how bloody wonderful she was, and Remus couldn't help but wonder if any of it was true. Max told him story after story about Camellia Norewood playing with him in their garden when everyone else had refused. He'd heard about her taking over the kitchen from their house elf because Max had wanted to learn how to bake a pie. He'd heard all about how she was the perfect sister. So it was his fault that he'd suddenly _wanted_ to pay attention to her, and it was his fault that Remus had been so upset upon hearing what Evan _bloody_ Rosier had said to her. He probably would have been irritated if he'd heard anyone say that, but the fact that it was said to someone that Max, his favorite first year, absolutely adored had sent him into that utterly ridiculous coughing fit. If his friends had seen that he would never be able to live it down, but to his luck the only one that had noticed was Camellia Norewood herself.

He didn't like to think about the incident much because it made him feel silly, but he'd seen the shame and hurt on her face when she'd turned around. She was a Slytherin; where on earth was the emotionless girl he'd expected to find turning around to face him? Instead he'd had to see those blue eyes that reminded him so much of Max filled with emotions he'd never thought Camellia would be able to possess. And the thought of those eyes haunted him, and definitely fueled his hatred for Rosier.

It was pointless, really, that he was so upset about it because there wasn't a single thing he could do without starting a war. His friends already tormented Severus mercilessly, if they were to start on another member of Slytherin because Remus had learned to despise them the Slytherins would be furious. They were already living in the middle of one war; they didn't need to be involved in another one. But despite that, Remus couldn't help but be angry and clench his fists and jaw every time he saw the stupid boy pass him by. His friends had noticed that part, of course, though they chose to believe he had some insane obsession with Camellia Norewood. He didn't. He was just interested in what was going on with her because of Max.

Speaking of Max, the first year was walking toward Remus with a determined look in his eyes. He wasn't entirely sure why that was, but walking away from Max never ended well. He'd tried it once before; the first year had ignored him for nearly a week. Remus was sure Max had learned that tactic from his sister, because from the little he knew about her it seemed like something she would do. "You're going to help me," Max said as he reached Remus in the common room.

"With?"

"This absolutely _idiotic_ History of Magic essay. It's stupid," he huffed, pulling his textbook out of his bag and frowning. "I tried to find Cam in the library because she's scary good at History of Magic but she was with that guy again,"

"Evan Rosier?"

"I don't care what his name is. He glares at me every time I talk to him,"

"Max-"

"I _hate_ him, Remus. I hate him,"

"It's not good to hate people," Remus said quietly, opening the textbook in front of him and trying not to smile. Apparently he wasn't the only person to hate the Slytherin.

"He's stealing my sister. You'd hate him too,"

"I'm sure if you just talked to her and told her that you miss her she would find a way to spend more time with you,"

Max frowned and rolled his eyes. "She promised me this wouldn't happen in the first place, but it doesn't seem to matter anymore," Remus frowned and was tempted to comment on that, but he decided Max probably didn't need any kind of lecture.

For the next hour Remus tried to explain the finer points in the goblin war Max was supposed to be writing about. He wasn't too great at History of Magic himself so he didn't remember anything about it, but after reading the section in the textbook he seemed to understand it more than Max. As he spoke though, Remus couldn't help but be thankful that he wasn't the only one who despised Evan Rosier. At least he wasn't alone in thinking that Camellia Norewood could do and deserved better than the irritating Slytherin.

 _Where did that come from?_

Remus didn't truly care about what Camellia deserved; he didn't care about anyone like her. But then why was he- "I have to go," he said suddenly, frowning. "I-"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I just need some fresh air. If you still need my help we can finish this later, okay?" Max nodded suspiciously and Remus hurried from the common room. He felt odd, almost like he'd been getting claustrophobic, so he didn't mind the bitterness of the early November air. It calmed him down at least, and that was always a good thing. Though why he was so worked up in the first place was a mystery. Luckily it wasn't important enough for him to worry and think about.

He'd been outside for just over half an hour when, "If you stay out here for too long you'll freeze," came from behind him. He recognized the voice immediately and turned around to face James. The other boy simply shrugged and smiled. "At least that's what my mother's always said around this time of the year. It gets quite annoying, actually," Remus was prepared to respond and explain that he wasn't even cold, but James continued to speak. "Are you alright Remus? Like actually alright? Because I know you're worried about people noticing the new scars, but they're already fading. I'm sure no one's really noticed,"

Right; the scars. There were two new ones on his face from the full moon a few nights ago and more on his chest and arms. His friends had been stuck in detention the night of the full moon. They'd been worried about being late and forgotten James' invisibility cloak and their map, and they'd been caught by Professor Slughorn and been forced into another detention. By the time they'd gotten to him there was nothing they could do about the damage he'd already inflicted on himself. So he was very worried about people noticing the new additions to his face. "I wasn't thinking about the bloody scars, James, but thanks for reminding me," It came out ruder than he would have hoped and James frowned.

"Sorry mate, I just thought you were worried about them and I wanted to make it better,"

"It's fine,"

There was a slight hesitation before his friend said, "You really should come inside though. It's freezing out here,"

"Don't be stupid; it's not that bad,"

"You obviously have no concept of cold then, Remus. Now come on; we're planning a surprise trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow,"

"It's not-James it's not a surprise if you plan it!" They bickered about that fact as they walked inside and started toward the common room. He was starting to feel a lot better now that he was talking to his friend, though the feeling faded when he started to hear crying. Remus began to walk faster to try and see what was happening, but James stopped him and smirked.

"Look, Moony, it's your obsession,"

"What?" His curiosity peaked at the words. He was in no way obsessed with Camellia, but his friends were under that impression and he was interested in what was going on. One look around the corner showed him Camellia Norewood standing in front of a third year boy, who was holding back sobs to the best of his ability.

Camellia was talking in, from what little Remus could hear, a soothing tone that he'd only heard her use around Max. She was straightening the boy's tie as well and occasionally putting a gentle hand on his forearm. A moment later she patted the boy's head and he hugged her before rushing off in the other direction.

"What did I tell you? Slytherin's Mummy-oh _shit,_ she's coming this way-"

Before either of them could react the Slytherin was standing in front of them, all of the warmth her face had held moments ago completely gone. "Spying on me again, Lupin? I'm starting to worry about finding you in the bathroom while I try to shower,"

If anyone else had said it James would have been doubled over laughing, yet he only glared at the tall girl. Remus himself had just gone red and opened his mouth in horror. He would never do something like that. "Remus isn't going to do that," James said, almost sounding exactly like what Remus did in his head. "especially not to _you_. Honestly Norewood, no one would want to look at _you_ even if you were the last girl on the planet,"

For a brief moment her face faltered and she looked absolutely horrified and hurt, but her cold glare quickly returned. Remus wondered if she'd been remembering, in that moment, Evan Rosier's comments on her appearance like he was. "James that was too harsh. You should apologize fo-"

"I don't need you defending me," she said angrily. "And you should watch what you're saying, Potter, if my-"

"Oh go ahead and send all your little Death Eater friends after me-"

"James!"

James and Camellia had both drawn their wands, and Remus was startled to see the murderous expression on Camellia's face. "Take that back,"

"Aw look, Remus, she's upset we've figured out her little secret. Have you already got the tattoo, Sweetheart, or is that your Christmas present?"

She paled considerably which made Remus even more curious about her. "Shut up, Potter, and take that back!"

Her want was steady and she seemed ready to curse James at any second. "James, why don't you-"

"Shut up, Lupin! I don't need-"

Whatever it was she didn't need, they would never know because she was cut off by her name being yelled from down the corridor. "How dare you embarrass yourself like this!" demanded Evan Rosier as he reached the odd group. The other sixth year Slytherin boys following closely behind. "Put your wand away, you stupid, careless girl!"

To the surprise of James and himself, her wand was immediately shoved back into her robes. "Evan, I-"

"I don't want to hear it. You know how to act, I'm sure, so follow what you know is right instead of resorting to fighting like some common mudblood. I will be writing to Vaughn about this,"

There was fear in her eyes for a few seconds. "No, Evan, please don't-"

"Your groveling disgusts me," A moment later the boys were gone.

"What the hell was that?

The girl shook her head, a few strands of auburn hair escaping her bun. "Don't tell Max," was the first thing she said. Remus, along with James, just stared at her, still waiting for an explanation of what they'd just seen. Remus could understand, now, that the two Slytherins weren't together by choice and he started to feel bad for the girl. "Just don't tell Max. Please, Potter, Lupin, I-"

"We won't say anything,"

"Remus-"

" _We won't say anything,"_

Camellia Norewood nodded, probably thankful, before she turned on her heel and walked calmly away from them. For a few minutes the boys stood in utter silence before James decided to open his mouth again. "What the actual hell just happened?"

"I'm not sure. I mean it's happened before in a way, but…"

"There's no way she'd let herself be treated like that by anyone. She's a Slytherin, she thinks she's above the rest of the world,"

"It happened in Honeydukes, James. I was behind them in line and he started going on about how she shouldn't be eating candy because her appearance didn't please her. I'm also not supposed to tell Max about that one,"

James looked suddenly guilty, though Remus could understand why. "Please tell me I didn't…"

"You did,"

"Well shit,"

Remus narrowed his eyes at his friend, who had the decency to look ashamed of himself. "You know you have to apologize,"

"Remus she'll murder me,"

"I doubt it. She doesn't seem the type,"

"Remus-"

"No, don't you dare try and get out of this. You're not a bad person, James, nothing like that but what you said was awful. We're supposed to be chivalrous, aren't we?"

"I know, I know; I screwed up,"

Remus sighed and gave James a bit of a push toward the common room. "You'll make it right, I know you will,"

Seconds later they were back to an easy conversation about quidditch, one of James' favorite subjects, that carried them back to the common room and up to their dormitory. James started to toss one of his quaffles in the air before catching it again. They stayed like that for a while, laying on their beds as James explained exactly how wonderful his favorite team was becoming, and Remus felt happy. He loved his friends, moments like these, and he was always reminded just how lucky he was to have them.

He left as soon as Sirius entered the room, ignoring the other boy to the best of his ability. They were in the middle of a fight, and Remus wasn't quite ready to forgive the other boy despite how sad he looked when Remus ignored him. James called his name but Remus ignored him as well and hurried back to the common room. He considered going over to Max but the first year was surrounded by his own friends and he looked content to stay there.

Remus, unsure of where else to go, made his way to the great hall. It wasn't anywhere close dinner so the grand room was practically empty, though Remus didn't mind that. It was actually a very peaceful spot at that time, so he sat down at the Gryffindor table and began to read. If anyone knew him then they knew he enjoyed that particular activity, and he hated being disturbed while doing it. So he wasn't pleased when a loud group of Ravenclaws came in, chatting about something Remus couldn't be bothered to pay attention to.

Dinner finally arrived and Remus sat by Lily and the other sixth year girls instead of his friends, though the girls seemed happy to have him around. His friends thought it odd that after six years Remus hadn't developed any kind of romantic feeling for the girls, but he knew it was because he could never have a relationship like normal people. He refused to force some poor girl into loving him, a monster, and he knew he could never give the woman children to make her happy. The best way to avoid being hurt by the fact that he could never have that was to push all of the feelings as far back as he could. It had worked for six years, and Remus was sure it would work for the rest of his life.

His dinner with the girls was actually quite enjoyable, though it always seemed to be when he sat with them. And while he could feel Lily's eyes on one of his new scars, she was kind enough not to bring it up in front of everyone else. He'd probably be interrogated about it when the went on patrol that night, but Remus could live with it. However as much as he enjoyed sitting where he didn't have to hear complaints about Severus Snape or talk of quidditch, Remus couldn't help his eyes from drifting over to the Slytherin table. Camellia Norewood interested him far more than she ever had before, especially after the incident in the corridor.

She was sitting between Evan Rosier and Regulus Black, though it was Sirius' brother who was actually paying her any attention. Evan, he thought, was probably just there out of obligation. She seemed to behave oddly around Evan, though he could definitely tell how much more at ease she was when Regulus was around. Sirius always spoke about how awful his brother could be, but as Camellia Norewood laughed joyfully and beamed at the younger student, he wondered if maybe Sirius hadn't been right in his judgment. Evan Rosier threw her a disapproving glance that immediately ended her laughter, and Remus sighed quietly. "What on earth are you looking at?" one of the girls, Marie, demanded with a smirk.

"Nothing," Remus shrugged, feeling odd because apparently he'd been distracted enough to draw the girls out of their conversation about-well he hadn't actually been listening.

"You know I heard James saying that-"

"Oh please, don't bring that up _again_ ," Lily sighed dramatically. "Honestly, don't listen to what Potter says. And leave Remus alone, would you? He's well within his rights to look around the great hall,"

"I agree, Lily, honestly, but he was staring at-"

"Just let it go, please. Now, what were you saying about Diagon Alley?"

He'd have to remind himself to thank Lily for saving him later. Then again the redhead would probably ask him about that on patrol as well, so it wasn't like he was safe from explaining. As soon as they'd finished their meals Remus was dragged off to actually start his patrol with Lily, who was looking at him like a disapproving mother. Much of the rest of his night was spent arguing about his new scars-Lily had figured out his secret the previous year-and then where he'd been looking during dinner. He'd tried to explain that it was none of her business, any of it, but Lily never took no for an answer. And so finally Remus admitted, "I was watching Norewood. Max's sister,"

If Lily was surprised at the information she definitely didn't show it. "And why couldn't you just say that in the first place?"

Remus frowned and looked at her. "Because I'd like to still have some secrets, Lily. I don't need you and everybody else knowing about them,"

"Remus I would have thought you'd realized by now that I don't plan on sharing any of your secrets any time soon. So, with that established are you willing to tell me why you were looking at Camellia Norewood?"

"It wasn't any special reason," he said. Quite frankly he'd simply been trying to figure out if she was having to deal with rude comments about herself. He would have tried to stop them, or at least he told himself that's what he would do.

"This isn't the first time you've talked about her, Remus,"

"Oh?"

"Don't act stupid," Lily rolled her eyes and offered him an encouraging smile. "I know it might backfire because sometimes she's a little uptight, but I think you two would make lovely friends,"

"Excuse me?"

"Is there any other reason why you'd be looking at her and talking about her?"

He wanted to blame Max immediately, but the first year seemed to always take the blame for that subject and he was beginning to feel bad about it. "No,"

"I think she could use a friend like you, Remus. Just think about it, all right? Now-Hey! You can't just start making out in the corridor!"

They'd stumbled upon the scene and Lily began to explain exactly why the couple couldn't do that in the corridor, and most of her explanation had to do with the possibility of younger students passing by and being upset by what they'd seen. Remus simply nodded along and pretended to listen and agree with what Lily was saying. He continued to think about her words though, as he wondered whether or not he actually would want a friendship with the Slytherin girl. They probably had some of the same interests; Remus had seen her reading and after the incident in Honeydukes he'd realized that she liked Chocolate Frogs, though probably not as much as he did. Yet he'd already put himself out there, hadn't he? In friendship terms, that is. After all, one doesn't send candy to their enemy, does he?


	7. Chapter 7

Despite numerous spells, the Slytherin common room got progressively colder as November dragged on. And while it was probably the safest place for her- _five_ different Gryffindors had come up to her in the past two weeks-Camellia despised being cold.

The Gryffindors were causing her problems though. James Potter had come to her to apologize for his actions of the beginning of the month, which had been horrifying for the both of them. Next had come Remus Lupin who'd simply opened and closed his mouth before hurrying away, which was definitely the weirdest encounter by far. Sirius Black had warned her to stay away from his friends which had made Regulus furious with her. Some fifth year boy had come up to her, though all he'd wanted was to ask her a question about History of Magic. Apparently Max had been boasting loudly about her ability in that subject. And finally, Lily Evans had come up to her three days previously, simply to inquire about her well being. Severus hadn't spoken to her since, not that they talked that much anyway.

It had been surprisingly hard to lie to the Gryffindor prefect. She'd seemed so kind and concerned when she'd spoken to her, and Camellia wasn't used to that. But she'd answered the other girl with a practiced, _I'm fine, thank you_ , which sent the Gryffindor walking away. Camellia was not, however, fine. She felt that what was supposed to be _her_ life was now being controlled by Vaughn and Evan. For God's sake, Evan was taking it as far as to dish her meals for her. She hadn't had dessert in weeks and that had always been her favorite part of any meal. She wasn't sure how much longer she could handle that, but what choice did she have? Vaughn would brutally murder her if she broke up with Evan and tarnished the family name. There was nothing she could do.

Except, of course, drag Regulus to the kitchens with her. Her best friend was laughing at her as she marched toward a painting of a fruit bowl. While it was supposed to be a secret _everyone_ in their last few years knew where the entrance to the kitchens was.

The house elves never failed to impress her with their kindness and hospitality. She missed Mina in that moment, though she didn't focus on that for too long. After asking politely for two cups of tea, Camellia sat down in the corner of the room with Regulus, who still looked fairly amused. "You do know that we can make tea in the common room, right?"

Camellia shot him a glare. "After four years you should know why I wanted to come here. Besides, the house elves are nice and Evan's in the common room. I prefer them as company,"

"You're supposed to be falling madly in love with him, not avoiding him,"

"No, I'm supposed to be catering to his every desire, not falling in love. Besides, I'm not sure loving Evan Rosier is possible for me. He's having me eat _salad_ , Reg, _salad_ -"

"It's for your own good,"

"Right, because it's a good thing for me to starve,"

"You're not starving, Cam," Regulus sighed, watching his friends roll her eyes.

"That doesn't mean I can't miss chicken,"

"You hate chicken,"

"Well at least before I could choose whether or not I wanted to eat it!"

"Do you always have to be so damn dramatic?"

Camellia sighed, fighting the urge to argue with him. "Thank you," she said quietly as the elves brought their tea. Along with it came a tray of sweets, and Camellia smiled despite knowing she shouldn't be so happy about it. She stuck a small cauldron cake in her mouth before Regulus could comment on it and smiled triumphantly. He rolled his eyes and sipped his tea, frowning.

"Is Evan really that bad?"

Camellia hesitated before saying, "He's not horrible, but I don't want to be with him. I don't really want any of this,"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean… Evan wants me to look and act a certain way, but that's not… that's not a person I want to be,"

"All he wants is for you to be proper,"

"Proper, yes, and along with that someone who hates muggles and muggleborns. He-He wants to follow, you know…" she said, irritated with the shakiness of her voice. "and I could never do that,"

For a moment Regulus looked conflicted, but then he sighed again. "Would it be that bad if you followed him too? Think of all he can do for people like us,"

"He murders people," Camellia said coldly, frowning. "Everyone knows it. I refuse to be a part of that,"

"What if you don't have a choice?"

"Excuse me?"

"What if Vaughn joins and he makes you join too?" Camellia paled; that was exactly what her brother wanted. "Or what if you have to marry Evan and he makes you join?"

For a few moments there was only the sound of the house elves bustling about. And then, "I'd run away; disappear or something. I would die before I joined those people,"

"And leave Max behind?"

"Don't you dare-"

"He worships you, especially after your parents died,"

"Regulus-"

"And you would be selfish enough to-"

" _Regulus_ -"

"-leave him behind? How could you do that? After your par-"

" _Enough_!" she yelled, forgetting herself for a moment. "Don't you _ever_ bring that up; don't you _ever_ assume I would leave him or leave him without protection,"

"Who would-"

"The Gryffindors," she snapped. "They like him; they wouldn't let him be in danger,"

"The _Gryffindors_?" he asked in disbelief. "You'd trust your brother to them rather than to one of us?"

"They're not bad people,"

"They're the worst!"

"Funny, that's what people say about us,"

"But it's true about them, Cam. They're awful, deranged people who-"

"My brother is a Gryffindor!"

"Mine is too and you know how awful he is. Honestly, I mean no offense but they're all- _Damn it Cam put that down; you've already had one_!"

Camellia threw the sweet she'd picked up and it hit Regulus in the forehead. "So you agree with him then?"

"I never said that,"

"Then why can I not have two sweets? I've always had two before and you've never complained,"

"It's just…"

"Spit it out,"

"Evan wouldn't like it and he's already upset with you,"

"Evan is always upset with me. I don't need you to try and prevent that when it won't work,"

She left Regulus sitting there and stormed out of the kitchens. She shouldn't have gotten so mad and yelled; she wasn't supposed to cause any problems. Yet she was too proud to turn around and apologize, so Camellia walked to the library instead. Max seemed to love it in there and she always felt a little better with her little brother around.

Camellia found him at a table in a secluded corner of the library and she immediately threw herself into the chair across from him, resting her head on the table and closing her eyes. "Um, Cam-"

"Regulus is an idiot," she muttered, sighing heavily and taking comfort in the presence of her brother.

"Um, okay Cam, but-"

"You don't mind me sitting here, do you? I just can't be around any of the Slytherins right now,"

"Of course I don't mind, but-"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I um-"

"I think Max is trying to tell you that your head is on my essay and you're sitting in my seat,"

Camellia jumped, her eyes wide as she realized that Remus Lupin was standing next to her. "My apologies," she said, very glad that her cheeks weren't warming. "I'll just go,"

"Cam-"

"You don't have to leave, Norewood,"

"I refuse to intrude, Lupin," she shot back, moving to stand.

"You're my sister; you're not intruding," Max said quickly. "Remus, tell her she's not intruding,"

"You're not intruding,"

"Be that as it may I should still get back to the common room,"

"Please can you stay? I-Remus would like you to look over his essay!"

" _What_?" the two sixth years asked together.

"Max, why would you-" Remus began, looking at the other boy in confusion. Max was looking at him pleadingly and Camellia rolled her eyes. She always caved in at that expression, and it seemed to work on everyone else. "I-I mean would you please? I, um, want to make sure I'm explaining everything correctly,"

Max looked at her then, and Camellia nodded slightly. Remus pushed the essay she'd been laying her head on closer to her before sitting down in the chair beside her own. Max smiled and quickly got back to work on his own homework.

Camellia was lost as soon as she started reading, but she could definitely tell the essay was well written. She continued to read, attempting to ignore the brownish eyes that were watching her, until a spare bit of parchment was pushed over to her. _**You do know this is an Ancient Runes essay, right?**_

The handwriting was oddly familiar, though why that would be puzzled her. She reached for Remus' quill before writing, _Your point?_ and sliding the parchment back to him.

She was about to hand over the quill as well, though Remus pulled out another and shrugged. After a moment he pushed the parchment back in her directions. _ **Faster**_. he gave as an explanation. _**And my point is that you're not in Ancient Runes**_.

 _So_ _that's_ _why it makes absolutely no sense._

Remus chuckled softly, and Camellia couldn't help but feel slightly proud that she'd made the Gryffindor laugh. _**That would seem to be your problem, yes.**_

 _I'm trying to read this terribly confusing essay, Lupin, so could you stop distracting me?_

He put his hands up in surrender and Camellia turned her attention back to his essay. Not too long after the last note she finished reading and nodded at Remus. "It's very good. You explained everything perfectly,"

She rolled the essay up and handed it back to him, smiling slightly. With a small flick of her wand she summoned her own bag and set to work on the reading for Potions they'd been assigned, ignoring the pleased looks of the two Gryffindors. Though why the older of them would be pleased, she didn't know. However halfway through her reading she realized exactly how she knew Remus' handwriting, and she looked at him in surprise. He raised an eyebrow and pushed the parchment toward her again. _It was you_. she wrote hurriedly, shoving it back to him.

 _ **I'm not sure I know what you mean.**_

 _You sent me Chocolate Frogs after that… thing in Honeydukes._

He blushed as he read her note, and glanced at her sheepishly. _**I didn't think this note thing through, did I.**_

 _Apparently not. But why did you do it?_

 _ **I didn't think you'd want Max to know you didn't understand the essay.**_ Camellia glared as soon as she saw the note and Remus immediately took the parchment back and wrote something else. _**It was rude, what he said to you. If he wants to complain, he should watch my friends go in that store. Two chocolate frogs aren't going to make you gain weight, and you look fine already. You're allowed to eat sweets, Norewood. Besides, the beans were for Max, weren't they? Not that it matters.**_

 _How could you know they were for Max?_

 ** _He asked me to buy him some too. I think he has a problem, honestly, because not even a day later he asked if I had a way to get more._**

 _He's always been obsessed with them._

They'd both laughed at the thought, which made Max finally look up and frowned at them. "What?" he asked, looking between the two. Camellia glanced at Remus who was smiling at her brother, and she was pleased. What was happening at that moment was much better than what she'd done with Regulus. And tea in the kitchens was one of her favorite things to do. " _What?"_

"Nothing Max," Remus said, still smiling at the anger beginning to show on Max's face.

"No, what are you two laughing about?" Camellia chuckled again and Max threw his quill at her. "Cam! You two don't even _like_ each other, why are you laughing?"

The reality of Max's statement stopped their laughter in its tracks. Max was right; they didn't like each other and they definitely weren't supposed to get along like that. Camellia dropped her eyes back to her book and continued reading. Because of that she missed the irritated look Remus was giving her brother.

Remus scribbled something on the parchment they'd been using and pushed it toward her. She wasn't blind so she saw him looking at her and nodding toward the parchment, but she refused to look at it. It was nice to be civil with a Gryffindor for once, but she couldn't allow it to last too long. First of all while Remus Lupin seemed very nice and obviously cared about her brother, she didn't know him and therefore didn't trust him. Not to mention if she talked to and was friendly with him for too long then there was a chance that Sirius Black would find out and he'd clearly warned her to stay away from his friends. She refused to upset him because Sirius Black could be ruthless if he was angry about something.

"I have to meet with Professor Dumbledore, so I should probably get going," Remus said after a while.

"You're meeting with Professor _Dumbledore_?" Max asked in disbelief, looking at the Gryffindor prefect with wide eyes. "Why are you meeting with Professor Dumbledore?"

"I-" Camellia noticed how he paused and she glanced at him to see his cheeks reddening and he was avoiding looking Max in the eyes. "It's a prefect thing. I'm sure when you're a prefect someday you'll get called to meet with him as well,"

Max smiled proudly, probably because Remus thought he'd be a prefect one day. Camellia didn't know Max had ever really wanted that for himself. She would like to think he would be one as well; Max was the kind of boy who deserved that title. Instead of asking more questions Max just nodded and waved to Remus as he left. "Do you think I'll be one too Cam?" he asked after the other boy had left the library.

"If you work hard I think there's no one better than you for the job,"

Max beamed at her and Camellia couldn't stop herself from smiling at him as well. The two siblings went back to work for a good while, and the entire time Camellia was trying very hard not to look at the sheet of parchment the Gryffindor had left lying on the table. Eventually Max left too, kissing her cheek as he did so, and Camellia was left alone.

It was not, however, for very long. After about five minutes of sitting by herself, Regulus sat down across from her. Camellia glanced up at him, only to see that he was staring at the table. "I just wanted to, um, apologize for what happened in the kitchens," he said stiffly, refusing to meet her eyes.

"It doesn't matter," she responded quietly, her eyes flickering up to look at him for a moment. He did look apologetic which made her smile slightly. At least he seemed to feel bad about what had happened, and Camellia knew that she was still upset about it.

"Are we okay then? You're not secretly hating me or anything, are you?"

Well, she was for the time being, but Camellia made an effort not to upset the members of her house. "I could never hate you, Reg. You know that,"

He smiled then and finally looked her in the eyes. "Thank you, Camellia," he said, standing up. "I'll see you later then,"

"Goodbye, Regulus," She wished, for a moment, that he would have stayed with her but he had other friends to spend time with and she refused to take up more of his time than he wanted her to.

After finishing her reading and taking notes that would help her study it later on, Camellia packed up her things and stood, stretching her back and arms and yawning. It was only then that she remembered the note Remus had written on the parchment, so Camellia picked it up and read, ** _I've never exactly disliked you, Norewood. We've just never really had a chance to get to know each other._**

She smiled before crumpling the parchment in her hand and shoving it into her bag. If Evan saw it he would be furious, because he would know she'd been talking to Remus and he despised Gryffindors. She was actually lucky that Regulus hadn't picked it up or looked at it, because he'd been staring at the table and that's where it had been lying.

Camellia didn't know or trust Remus Lupin, that she knew for sure. But as she walked to the Slytherin common room where she knew she'd be under intense scrutiny from Evan and his friends, she couldn't help but think of what he'd written. Most of what she heard recently was about how she needed to look better or act differently. But Remus didn't care; it seemed like the only thing he thought was important was doing what she pleased. And that feeling wasn't something Camellia was used to, because a lot of people wanted her to do things for them. She lived to please other people, whether it was Vaughn or Evan or her parents before they died.

She shook her head and sighed, trying to forget what she'd been thinking. It didn't matter what Remus thought she should do, because that wasn't her life. She would never get to live for herself, it would always be someone else. Camellia knew she was meant to please other people, and traitorous thoughts like what Remus' words had made her think would only make her feel miserable. She had to forget about it and remember that she was supposed to be happy with how things were. Because if she told herself enough times that she _was_ , in fact, happy, then she would actually start to think it was true.


	8. Chapter 8

Lily's suggestion at the beginning of the month had gotten him thinking, but it wasn't until that day in the library that Remus decided he was willing to try being friends with Camellia Norewood. He hadn't planned on listening to anything Lily had been saying in reference to the girl-and she had started talking about her on each of their patrols-because how was he supposed to be friends with the girl if none of their other friends would accept it? His friends would be angry if he befriended a Slytherin, and he didn't even want to think about how her friends would react. Then again, he was sure her only real friend was Regulus Black, and he wasn't that bad. Remus had decided that the day he'd seen the younger student making Camellia laugh.

But then he'd learned that the Slytherin actually had a sense of humor, and he'd learned that she wasn't as arrogant as everyone thought Slytherins were. And she was so good with Max, and Max was quickly becoming his favorite person in the castle. He was supposed to dislike her and Remus had done very good with that for five years, but once she started making herself known Remus was finding it hard to keep up the act.

He would have inquired about a friendship that day in the library if Max hadn't brought up the fact that they weren't supposed to get along. That had irritated him, yes, though he wasn't too mad because it had given him time to think about whether or not he actually wanted to get involved with the girl in any way. There was always a risk in having friends with him because of what he was, which was why he'd tried to avoid James, Sirius, and Peter when they were younger. He was lucky enough to have four people his age who knew what he was and didn't care-Lily had figured out his secret-but what if Camellia hated him for it? What if she was afraid of him and told everyone what he was? He couldn't have that.

Yet his decision was still to try and become her friend. Usually he had to deal with people trying to become his friend and he would try to push them away, but he knew Camellia Norewood wouldn't start the process herself. The only problem was he had to figure out a good time to talk to her, without other Slytherins around. She was usually with Regulus Black and in class Evan Rosier was always at her side, even if he looked annoyed. It was nearly impossible to get to talk to her.

James continued to tease him mercilessly about being interested in the girl, and Peter only shrugged every time they started. He'd only just made up with Sirius so the other boy was trying not to upset him, which at least meant he had one friend who wasn't going to make fun of him. Remus had gone as far as to give James a detention in the hopes that he would stop teasing him. It hadn't worked, and it had only irritated his friend.

Remus finally found his opportunity to talk to the girl when Max asked him to join him and his sister for the first quidditch match of the school year. Apparently Camellia Norewood was going to be by herself because Regulus Black was to sit with the Slytherin team and Evan Rosier had other plans with his friends. Remus didn't know what had inspired Max to ask him, but he was glad they were going together.

They met Camellia in the entrance hall on a chilly Saturday morning near the end of November. She was bundled up in what Remus assumed was a hundred layers because she seemed bulkier than normal. Max only laughed when he saw her and he ran over, leaving Remus to walk to the siblings awkwardly. Max couldn't stop talking about how excited he was as he led their odd little group down to the quidditch pitch. They ended up sitting in the Gryffindor section, and Camellia stuck out like a sore thumb because of the green and silver scarf wrapped around her neck. It was only then that Remus noticed she had yet to acknowledge his presence.

"I hope we win," Max said for the tenth time that morning. "Everyone says the Hufflepuff team is awful, but my friend Jeremy says they're actually really good. It would be so cool for my house to win their first quidditch match in my first year. I mean-"

He was babbling, probably because he'd sensed the tension around them. If Camellia had noticed she wasn't showing it; she was smiling and nodding along to what Max was saying. "So Max," Remus interrupted. "Are you going to be Gryffindor's next quidditch star?"

Max laughed loudly and shrugged. "Well I don't take after Cam on a broom, so maybe I have a chance but I'm more of a fan than a player,"

Camellia's face was slowly going red, though Remus didn't know if it was because of the comment of the cold. "Didn't we agree _never_ to speak of that?" He guessed it was the comment making her gain color.

"Bad at flying?" Remus asked politely.

Max laughed again. " _Bad_? Cam's not _bad_ , she's-"

"Awful," she said, her tone irritated but with a bit of amusement as well. "Max is trying to inform you, Lupin, that I am probably the worst in the world at flying on a broom,"

"You can't be _that_ bad,"

"The first time I tried I got three feet in the air and then fell off,"

"What about the-"

"The next time? I crashed into a tree," Camellia frowned and pointed to a thin white line by her left eye. Remus had never noticed it before, though he knew that was because he'd never bothered looking. "Damn tree scarred me for life," she chuckled, knocking her shoulder against Max's. "And _you_ ," she said accusingly, looking at her younger brother with narrowed eyes, "would not stop laughing at me even though you were three and had no idea what was going on,"

"I was _three_ , Cam, I don't even remember it," he said defensively, though Remus felt like it was an argument they'd had before.

"Still, at least Vaughn and-" He noticed her hesitation as she spoke, though he didn't know why she would do that. "-Dad came to my rescue,"

Max looked at her in surprise before he smiled slightly and nodded. "And I was still only three. But that's not even my favorite story, Remus," he said, turning his attention back to the older boy. "Apparently when she had her first flying lesson here she flew her and her broom straight into the Black Lake,"

They both laughed at that, and Camellia only rolled her eyes. "Right, that's so funny. Until you remember that I couldn't _swim_ and nearly _died_ ,"

"You can't swim?" Remus asked, surprised at everything she was revealing about herself. It had to be Max; he made her feel more comfortable. Though he had a sneaking suspicion it was because they were surrounded by people who were supposed to hate her and she was trying to make herself seem like less of a target.

"Not at that age; I'd never had a need to. I taught myself the next summer. Honestly Lupin, how you don't remember that when it was all over the school for weeks… I was horrified,"

The three continued to talk for a good half an hour, though it definitely got harder once the match started because the Gryffindor section erupted in cheers every time their team scored. Which was, admittedly, quite often. He'd never seen Camellia as relaxed as she was during the match, and he wasn't sure why that was. The people around them, despite enjoying the match, were tense and broke into whispers every few minutes. Maybe she just didn't care what they thought of her being there. Remus would be horrified if he heard people whispering about him like that, though he did have a rather large secret he was keeping.

After a particularly spectacular block by the Gryffindor keeper Max's friends found him and dragged him away to go sit with them. He'd looked to Camellia for permission to go, and of course she'd smiled and shooed him away. As soon as he was out of sight Camellia started shivering and glaring at the pitch. "Are you okay?"

"It's _freezing_ out here; it's about time for me to go inside, I think. It was nice to see you again, Lupin," she said, sounding so formal it almost made him cringe.

"I'll walk you back to the castle," he said quickly, standing up with her and smiling nervously.

"You-Why would you do that?" Remus simply shrugged and began to lead her out of the pitch. She walked next to him with her hands clasped tightly in front of her. "Max was telling me that you've been helping him with his homework," she stated, obviously trying to make conversation with him.

"It's more of him sitting next to me and doing it rather than me helping him. Max is smart, really, though he doesn't have your talent with History of Magic. Or at least he says you have talent in that subject,"

Camellia rolled her eyes. "He doesn't have to tell everyone about that. Honestly, some fifth year came over to ask me a question. I rather prefer being left alone,"

"So you are good, then?"

"I've always had an O. It, well, it comes naturally to me. Like Defense comes naturally to you, doesn't it?"

"How do you know that?"

"Max talks to me too," she said cheekily, smirking at him. After a moment she returned her gaze to the ground in front of her and they walked for a few minutes in silence.

"Max talks about you too, you know," Remus said after a while. "Honestly I think every other thing he says is about you. All good things of course,"

She laughed and rolled her eyes, making Remus feel better. He felt awkward around her every now and then, but when she laughed it was like talking to any other person in the world. "I doubt that's true. There's not nearly enough good things to say about me, especially for as long as you've been speaking to him,"

"He would disagree with you. Though a lot of times I'm simply hearing childhood stories,"

" _Please_ tell me he didn't mention the pie fiasco,"

"I've heard that one three times," Camellia shook her head and frowned, sighing heavily as well. "It made you seem nice, in my opinion,"

"But I'm only nice to _him_ and it's supposed to be a secret. I do have the reputation of an evil, mean Slytherin to uphold, you know,"

He wondered if she knew that other people called her _Slytherin's Mummy_ , because then she'd know that her reputation wasn't exactly of an evil person. Remus glanced at her with a raised eyebrow only to see her watching him with the smallest hint of a smile on her lips. "Oh-you're joking-you are joking, aren't you?"

"I know what they call me, Lupin, I do have ears. Evil is only what comes to mind when people realize what house I'm in,"

"Not everyone's like that,"

"Don't lie to me. I know that because of V-You Know Who, people think every Slytherin is going to join up and start-I don't know, killing kittens or something," Remus stared at her, the expression on her face a mixture of hurt and anger. Remus wasn't sure if it was him she was angry at, but he suddenly felt very awkward again and it made him feel awful. He wanted to get along with her, didn't he? So thinking like he was wasn't going to help that effort. "I appreciate you walking back with me," she said as they finally reached the entrance hall. "but this is where we part ways,"

Camellia turned and took a few steps toward the dungeons before Remus called out to her. "What if we didn't have to?"

If he'd known just how important those words would be for both of them, he might have tried to make the question sound better.

"Excuse me?" she asked, facing him once more with wide, questioning eyes.

"I was just thinking that maybe…" he trailed off, wishing not for the first time that he was more like James or Sirius. They would have already asked her, probably as soon as they'd decided they wanted to be her friend. Yet Remus had stalled for weeks and when he'd finally felt like he was able to ask her he'd put that off too.

"I do have other things to do today, Lupin, so if you could hurry this along that would be great," Her voice was shaking slightly, and she looked extremely confused. "Lupin?"

"Maybe we could do this more often?" he suggested, some how avoiding actually saying the word 'friendship'. It would be enough, perhaps give him more of a chance to actually figure out if he could talk to her for more than twenty minutes at a time and still have something to say. "I was thinking that we could meet up in the library, or-or-" His nerves were getting to him. Why did he want this in the first place? Remus hadn't even wanted to be friends with James, Sirius, and Peter at first; they'd forced themselves upon him. So had Max, if he could count the first year as a friend. But Camellia Norewood had been content to have nothing to do with him, which probably meant that she would reject him as soon as he actually suggested his idea.

She continued to stare at him, as if he'd magically be able to say the words. "Never mind. Have a nice day, Norewood," he said quickly. He was supposed to be courageous, but he was suddenly too nervous to do this? It was ridiculous.

"Did Max put you up to this?"

"What? No, I just-"

The look she gave him made him trail off and he stared at her instead of talking. She still seemed confused, but apparently she was still able to speak intelligently. "Look, I don't know why you're doing this, and I'm half sure you've got some ulterior motive. I don't like people making a joke out of me,"

"I-"

"I usually spend Thursday afternoon in the library helping a few first years study, but I can put that off,"

"Oh, um-"

"If you want to meet, that is. I'm also not a fan of putting myself out there, so you can make the decision. Show up, or don't. Now have a good day,"

Remus stared at her as she disappeared to the dungeons before he turned back to walk to his own common room. It wasn't exactly how he'd imagined the conversation would go, but then again that seemed to happen to him all the time.

There was no doubt in his mind though, about whether or not he would show up on Thursday. He had wanted this, not her, and he was going to go through with it. He had his doubts about her actually making time for him, but he would find out on Thursday afternoon.

Then again, as the week progressed, Thursday afternoon was all he could really think about. He was always nervous when it came to friends, but _this_ felt worse. And of course his friends noticed and teased him relentlessly about being on edge, even though they didn't know exactly why he was acting that way. Remus had guessed that Camellia wouldn't be explaining what they were doing to any of her friends, so he decided to keep their meeting secret. It was hardest to keep the whole thing from Max, because Remus kept hearing how Camellia was acting nervous and how Max couldn't figure out what was wrong. Remus almost gave them away about ten times during one particularly long conversation.

Until the moment he walked up to her table in the library, Camellia Norewood disappeared from him. For some reason he didn't notice her sitting at the Slytherin table during meals and she always seemed to disappear right after class. Not that he would try to talk to her, not until he saw her bent over her book, but it was almost like she didn't want him anywhere near her.

As much as he loved the library, Remus didn't tend to go on Thursday afternoons because it was usually full of students trying to get through the last of their homework before Friday night. The weekends were cherished times of freedom for everyone. Yet as he walked in and noticed the full tables, he didn't see her right away. But when he did, she was biting her lip and reading out of their Potions book. Though it seemed she was reading for her own entertainment because he was positive there was no assignment. At least he couldn't remember Professor Slughorn giving one, but there was always the possibility that he gave his Slytherins extra work so they would stay ahead. But Slughorn didn't really seem like the kind of man who wanted to do more work, so that wasn't likely.

"You came,"

Remus jumped slightly she wasn't even _looking_ at him and it wasn't like he was standing at her table. "How-"

"I heard someone walk up. It was either you or Max and while you both seem to have rather large feet, you sound heavier," He stared at her until she looked at him, and then she frowned. "I make a habit of knowing who comes near me,"

"Which makes sense, I can understand why you'd do that,"

Remus could have sworn he heard her mutter something along the lines of _I shouldn't have to_ , but he couldn't be sure. He took the seat across from her and opened a book of his own. For a while it was odd because they were just sitting there studying, but one scoff at something she'd read got them talking. That too was awkward at first, but then there were laughs, and small jokes, and finally plans to meet up in the next few days. Quietly, in the library, because they didn't want to cause a problem with anyone else in their houses. It would feel odd and they'd have to be careful, but Remus was rather pleased with himself. After all, his friends were always telling him to branch out and let some other people close to him. They wouldn't be pleased if they found out, but they never exactly said it couldn't be a _Slytherin_ he let in, did they?

Besides, the Thursday afternoon in the library was one of the more peaceful ones he'd had in a while, and Remus could use all the peace he could get.


	9. Chapter 9

"I've become friends with Remus Lupin,"

 _No_. It sounded terribly weird to say that.

"I've made acquaintance with Remus Lupin,"

She didn't want to sound proper, so that didn't work either.

"I've started speaking to Remus Lupin and I'm not entirely sure what's going to come of it, but I quite enjoy his company so maybe we could publicly be friends one day,"

Camellia sighed for maybe the fiftieth time that morning, and ran her hands over her face again. She was strongly considering telling Regulus about her involvement with Remus, and she'd been trying to find the perfect way to tell him for about half an hour. In front of the mirror in her empty dormitory. She couldn't face the other students at the moment, because she felt like they would be able to look at her and tell that she'd done something they'd disagree with. Friendships had never been so hard before, and Camellia often found herself longing for a simple solution for her predicament.

The situation with Remus wasn't the only thing causing her problems. Vaughn had sent countless letters telling her to improve her behavior before she came back for the holidays, because he wanted her to attend a 'social gathering', as he called it, before Christmas. Camellia knew what that meant, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to it. Evan was getting more and more frustrated with her, yet for some reason she could no longer find it in herself to completely bend to his will. For the most part she still did-which she'd heard Remus' gentle opinion on in the short weeks they'd been friends-but she'd fought back on some small things. Like picking her own meals again; she no longer allowed Evan to choose what her lunch and dinner would look like, which excited her more than it should.

But despite the excitement, she was nervous that she was pushing his limits too far. If she made him angry enough… pureblooded wizards would never stoop as low as some muggles who physically hurt their partners, but Evan wasn't above biting remarks that made her feel about as big as a speck of dust. Camellia had never done well with people criticizing her for very long, so that had no chance of going over well. Though there was always the chance she'd get over what Remus had offhandedly shown her how she could be treated-as an equal, really-and then everything would be okay. Well not okay, but it would be life and she could handle it.

" _Damn_ it Remus Lupin," she muttered, grabbing her bag and heading up to the great hall for breakfast. Everything had been so much easier before he'd shown up that Thursday; during the week she'd spent waiting and secretly hoping to see him show up she'd been able to tell herself that he was going to trick her. Before that he'd just been a Gryffindor boy who was slightly less annoying than the rest of them. She'd never truly fretted over something like this before, and it was all his fault that she was now.

Evan threw her disapproving glances as she sat down beside him at the Slytherin table, and Camellia was once again glad to find Regulus sitting with some of his other friends. She loved him, but he made her laugh and Evan got rather annoyed with sounds like that early in the morning. She ignored him for the most part and the way Severus Snape was looking at her, because she didn't really enjoy being looked at like she had two heads. Nothing had truly changed since she'd started sitting with the sixth year boys at breakfast, but now most of them looked at her as if she was some kind of alien creature. It was irritating, but she tried not to pay attention to it. Instead, she tried to find Max at the Gryffindor table. He was sitting surrounded by what looked like first years and his arms were waving wildly, so she could tell he was in the middle of some kind of story. Max really did love telling them, and the sight made her smile. She tried not to glance further down the table, but her eyes deceived her will and she caught sight of Remus laughing loudly with his own friends.

Not a care in the world. Camellia was becoming increasingly jealous of the boy.

"You can stare all you want, Norewood," sounded from her left, and Camellia glared at a girl a little ways down the table. Her name was Eva and she was a seventh year who'd always seemed to have an intense hatred for Camellia. Camellia knew it was probably because Eva had dated Vaughn for a while and then been tossed to the side, and ever since she'd hated their family. "You'll never be able to look like me. Unfortunate, really,"

Camellia nearly started laughing, because the girl was so narcissistic that she thought she was being stared at simply because Camellia was looking in her general direction. "Funny, I don't reme-"

"Remember your manners," Evan hissed suddenly, glaring at her coldly. "I don't need this nonsense this morning,"

"-member ever having that desire," she continued, hoping the girl wouldn't sense the venom that was clear in her words. "For how could I _ever_ hope to look like someone like you? I know it's not possible. Pity, really, I'm forever stuck with this,"

" _Camellia_ -"

"You know, I think I'll go to class early," she interrupted, standing up and clenching her hands into fists so it wouldn't be so obvious that they were shaking. She despised what she was doing because it would only mean another letter from Vaughn and he'd be furious with her over the holiday. But if Remus and Max could spend their breakfasts laughing, _why the hell couldn't she_? And why should she have to listen to comments like the ones Eva was making? Again she decided to blame Remus.

Her first class of the day was Potions, and she was partnered with Anna which actually made the class even better than Camellia had previously found it. Anna was probably her favorite of the Ravenclaws she liked to spend time with, and she wasn't half bad at Potions either so they usually did well together. She could feel Evan glaring at her and Camellia couldn't help but be worried about the argument they would have as soon as their lessons were over. "I honestly don't see the use in this potion," Anna muttered as she stirred. "We're never going to need it, so why do we need to brew it?"

"Because they'll test us over it during our N.E.W.T.S.?"

"Not a good enough reason,"

"It never is," Camellia agreed, sending a small smile in the direction of the Ravenclaw, whose hair was starting to go crazy with the heat in the room. The other girl beamed at her before glancing at the book lying between them.

"Is this the right color? I can never tell,"

"Can you see Lily Evans' potion?"

"Yes?"

"Does it look like hers?"

"Well, no,"

"Then it's not the right color," Camellia said, sighing. "It's difficult, I'm sure Professor Slughorn won't be too rude about it. He's actually very sweet,"

"Oh I'm sure he is to you," Anna snapped, glaring at the potion. "He expects nothing but the best from the rest of us,"

"You should have been a Slytherin then,"

Anna chuckled and went back to stirring, and soon enough they were packing up their things and looking at the vial of potion that Lily Evans was holding enviously. The Gryffindor girl was the best at Potions out of everyone in their year, though she was closely followed by Severus. Camellia knew she wasn't the only one jealous of the girl's talent, so at least she didn't feel petty for it.

Her morning, after the incident at breakfast, had actually been pretty good. She'd really enjoyed Potions because it had been fairly entertaining to watch Anna grow frustrated. Afterwards the Ravenclaw had walked her to her History of Magic class. Most people had stopped taking that class after their fifth year so there were only about ten of them left. The only Slytherins were herself and Severus, so they were pretty much forced to sit by each other because no one else wanted to. As it was her absolute favorite class, Camellia listened eagerly and gladly took notes which most others failed to do.

As the day dragged on, Camellia found more and more of the cheerfulness she'd found in Potions and History of Magic slipping away. Evan was furious with her because he thought her actions that morning had been completely out of line. While she didn't exactly agree with him-after all, she should be able to defend herself-she'd apologized to try and appease him. Apparently he'd taken one of his free periods to write a letter to Vaughn, so she was expecting an angry note at dinner. But that was a good four hours or so away, so she was trying not to focus on it too much.

By the time her last class of the day came around, she'd started to get irritated with Severus because for some reason he'd decided to stick by her side the entire day. He sneered at her every time he thought she was being an idiot. Which was often. Camellia could admit that she wasn't the brightest person in the school, but Severus found her completely incompetent and it was infuriating. Which was why, when they entered the Defense room, she'd attempted to sneak away from him when he paused to talk to another Slytherin. Of course she hadn't been able to, so she sat moodily in the front of the class. Severus was obsessed with Defense Against the Dark Arts and he'd always pushed his way to the front of the room.

Camellia usually preferred sitting near the back because then she didn't have to feel like there were people glaring at her back. In all honesty she knew that she was probably imagining the glares because she wasn't typically remembered very well by most Hufflepuffs, Gryffindors, and the Ravenclaw boys, but her imagination sometimes got the better of her. Which was, in her opinion, very annoying.

"Now we've all mastered," said a voice from the back of the room that pulled her out of her thoughts, "the Impediment Jinx,"

Camellia, along with the rest of the class, turned to face the back of the room where the young professor stood smiling. "Not this again," Severus muttered beside her, rolling his eyes.

"So I'm giving you all an easy task today. While we currently use this jinx to simply immobilize our target for a few seconds, I want you all to practice pushing or throwing a partner backwards. I've cushioned the-"

Camellia stopped listening rather quickly as memories began to trickle into her mind. _A loud crash-pain in the back of her head-_ Camellia squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to rid herself of the thoughts. She refused to let _that_ ruin her day even more.

The professor continued to speak for a few minutes before letting everyone pair up and start working on the spell. James Potter and Sirius Black jumped up almost immediately and started trying to jinx each other successfully, which Camellia found interesting to watch. She glanced at Remus to see him rolling his eyes at his friends and standing up while smiling at Peter Pettigrew. "Get up,"

She blinked and looked behind her to see Evan frowning with his arms folded across his chest. "What-"

"I've decided we're working together today,"

"But-" she looked around for Severus only to see him walking toward another Slytherin.

Evan grabbed her forearm almost too tightly and pulled her up, leaning down so his lips were next to her ear. "You're going to tell me why I've seen you look at that mangy Gryffindor five times today,"

"What on _earth_ are you talking about?" she whispered sharply, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"Don't play dumb with me, Camellia. I know you're _sometimes_ intelligent,"

"I don't know what you think you're seeing, but it's completely ridiculous. Why would I-" she faltered slightly before frowning and continuing, "-ever want to look at him? Honestly," she said defensively, trying not to glance at Remus and instead just hoping he hadn't somehow managed to hear her.

"I don't appreciate you lying either,"

"I'm not-"

" _Yes you are_. Do you even know how mad that looks for me? To have my _girlfriend_ looking at another man five hundred times a day? You're embarrassing the both of us,"

"Even if I am looking at him, it's not for that reason!"

"Then what reason is it?"

"There isn't one, because I'm not doing that!"

Evan glared at her as they finally stopped in a clear spot in the classroom. "If I see you even look at him again, for any reason, then I'm going to tell my father that I want out of this relationship. Do you honestly want _everyone_ to think that you're an awful partner because you're unfaithful?" She wanted to argue. She desperately wanted to start fighting back but Evan always found a way to say the perfect thing to make her mind go blank, and she didn't know what to say. "That's what I thought,"

For a moment they just stood staring at each other, Evan with a cocky smile on his face and Camellia with a horrified expression. Until, of course, the professor shouted, "Get to _work_ Rosier! Norewood if you're going to just stand there then you don't belong in my class!"

Despite her best efforts her face went a bright shade of red and she looked around to see many of the other pairs laughing quietly as they stared at her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Remus looking at her with a raised eyebrow, and after a moment he smacked Peter's arm because the chubby boy had started laughing as well. And within seconds she was pushed backwards a few feet which brought her attention back to Evan, who had his wand pointed at her. "This should be fun. After all if I remember correctly, you're afraid of this spell. Aren't you?"

"Evan-"

"I don't want you to attempt to use it on me,"

"But I-"

Before she could even finish her thought Evan had moved his wand again and Camellia threw up a shield charm before his jinx could reach her. And that was how a duel started in the middle of the Defense classroom. Evan continuously tried to hit her with the jinx and a few spells that Camellia suspected were said with more than a little frustration, and she simply kept throwing up new shield charms and occasionally trying to disarm him. Camellia could feel everyone watching them and she could hear their professor shouting at them, but she couldn't make out what the young witch was saying.

For a moment she glanced away, wondering just why they hadn't been stopped yet, but the action gave Evan enough time to send a powerful Impediment Jinx in her direction that sent her flying backwards into the cushioned wall. _"Don't move, don't leave this place until I come and get you. Okay Darling? Everything will be okay. I love you; don't move."_

Camellia stood on shaking legs, her eye wide and starting to get tearful. The room had gone oddly silent and they were all staring at her, and she looked down to see that her hands were shaking as well and her knees could be seen knocking together because of the length of her skirt. She remembered her father's last words to her for the second time in just a few moments, and her stomach started to churn. "I-"

 _Why did everyone have to stare at her?_

"I think-I think I'm going to be sick,"

Not even a second later Camellia bolted from the classroom, trying her hardest to ignore the professor calling out to her and the other students watching her as she went. She couldn't bring herself to look at anyone, not even Remus who had tried to catch her eye. Because of that, she didn't notice the sheer amount of concern that had taken over his face.

She made it to the bathroom in the corridor below the Defense classroom and hurried into one of the stalls, startling a few third years who were chatting loudly by the sinks. She sank to the floor of the stall after hearing the third years hurry out of the room, and tried to control her shaking limbs. Camellia stayed there for a while, taking calming breaths, because it was one place Evan would never walk into. It was safe there, and she could try and forget what she'd started remembering.

She hadn't even seen anything that day, she shouldn't be so shaken up every time it was brought up. Her father had forced her into a closet with the Impediment Jinx. The only physical evidence she had from that day was a scar on the back of her head because she'd hit it on something metal while being thrown in.

Camellia scratched the scar she often forgot existed and frowned. She hadn't seen anything; she'd been locked in a closet and she'd passed out after about fifteen minutes from the injury to the back of her head.

Yet remembering exactly what had happened the day her home had been stolen from and her parents had been murdered, and remembering exactly what her father had last said to her… it got overwhelming. It wasn't the first time it had happened and it definitely wouldn't be the last, but she was doing better for them. The first time it had ever happened she'd ended up actually getting sick and that had just been an awful mess. Then again the event was only a few years old, so she'd definitely made some positive improvement.

After finishing calming herself down, Camellia stood and brushed a few stray hairs out of her face, frowning the entire time. The display of weakness in her Defense class was sure to make people laugh at her, and she couldn't handle that right now. To try and prevent it from happening, she fixed a cold scowl on her face and walked angrily to the library.

Once there she sat at her usual table and laid her head down, feeling more frustrated than she had in what felt like a long time.

And that was how, nearly an hour later, Remus Lupin found her.


	10. Chapter 10

As Remus left Defense Against the Dark Arts with his friends, he realized that what he really wanted to do was silence Sirius and Peter so they could no longer laugh about what had happened with Camellia Norewood and Evan Rosier. At the very least, he wanted to hit them with a tripping jinx so they would shut up.

James was choosing to act like an adult in the moment, though Remus assumed that was because Lily had come up and started angrily ranting about what had happened. He wasn't entirely sure when the redhead had started caring about Camellia so much, but Remus welcomed the change. "I mean _honestly_ what kind of person does that to his girlfriend? And he knew- _he knew_ -that she didn't like the spell. I heard him say she was afraid of it. I-"

" _Evans_ ," Sirius snapped from in front of them. "Shut up about that stupid Slytherin, will you? If you ask me she got what she deserved,"

Remus opened his mouth to yell, most likely, about Sirius being wrong but to his absolute surprise James beat him to it. "No _you_ shut up, Padfoot," he said, his voice taking a serious tone that they rarely ever heard. "You've no idea the kinds of things he says and does to her, and if you did you wouldn't be as quick to start laughing at her,"

Lily had stopped and was staring at James as if she'd never seen him before. "I-" Sirius tried.

"Come on Remus," James interrupted. "And you, Lily, if you'd like,"

Of course they followed James into a side corridor, leaving Sirius and Peter confused. "Where, exactly, are we going?" Lily asked after they'd taken a few steps.

"To find Max,"

"Max?"

"Well he _is_ her brother. He can tell us why she would have gotten so upset and then we can find her and try to cheer her up,"

"You'd do that for her?" Remus asked, surprised.

"Well _someone_ has to,"

He'd never seen James so willing to care about a Slytherin before, and Remus was starting to wonder if James would actually be okay with the fact that he was sort of friends with Camellia. She really was a good person, once you got past her scowl and her defensive nature. He really was enjoying getting to know her and maybe if James started to like her too then everything could be more out in the open. At least with his friends, because maybe there was a chance that the friendship could be better. He would like that, he thought.

They found Max sitting in the great hall with a Hufflepuff girl and studying for Charms. There were people surrounding them, but the two weren't paying them any attention. Remus hurried over, leaving any misconceptions of interrupting the pair behind. "Max can I-Can we," he corrected himself, "maybe talk to you for a moment?"

The younger boy looked up with a smile, but it quickly faltered and fell away. "What about?"

"It's about your sist-"

"Cassandra do you mind if I-"

"Of course not," she smiled. "I know how you feel about your family. Just promise you'll come back to help me?"

"You know I will," Max said before he hurried off the bench and to where James and Lily were standing, and of course Remus followed him. "What do you three want with my sister?"

The two boys both looked at Lily, as she would probably be the best at explaining. Lily was already looking at Remus, as was Max, but then Lily sighed and began talking. "There was an incident in our Defense class," she explained. "We were practicing the Impediment Jinx and, well, it seems like she was arguing with Evan Rosier. They were partnered and when he tried to use the spell on her she fought back and-"

"Is this the one that throws you back?" Max interrupted.

"It can be used that way, yes,"

The young boy sighed heavily and frowned, looking back at his Hufflepuff friend. "Where is she?"

"Max what's-"

"Look I know people make fun of her for it," he said angrily. "But that spell terrifies her,"

"But _why_?" Remus asked quickly.

He looked confused, as if the reason should be well known to everyone. "The day our parents died my father used that spell on her and locked her in a closet. She had to listen to them being murdered before she passed out because she hit her head. I thought… I mean it was all over the Daily Prophet when it happened, so I thought everyone knew,"

"Your parents are-"

"Didn't I tell you? I thought I had. It was three or four years ago and I wasn't actually there, neither was Vaughn. It's… well, you know. But Cam was there, and she had to listen to most of it. It's worse for her," He sighed again and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'll try and find her later. When she really, really remembers it and gets upset then she usually needs a while to cool off before she wants to talk to anyone. But… Thanks for telling me,"

Max gave them all a sad smile before hurrying back to his friend and sitting down. "Oh my God," Lily said quietly, her eyes wide and shocked.

"She had to listen to her family die-I don't know how she can be so normal after that. I don't remember her changing at all," James muttered.

Remus, on the other hand, remained completely silent and just stared blankly at his friends. He was fighting the urge to simply run out of the great hall then and search the castle for her. He knew she would be fine, but he wanted to be there for her. And not because they were best friends or anything like that, but because there were only two other people he could imagine doing that. Regulus Black wouldn't if Evan Rosier had pretty much caused it, and Max didn't seem overly concerned.

"I know the original plan was to try and make her feel better about what happened, but Max knows her better than any of us, and if he's not rushing off then I think we should follow his lead and give her some time," Lily said.

Arguments popped into his head about why they shouldn't leave her alone, but in the end he knew Lily was probably right. So instead of running off like he wanted to, Remus simply followed his friends back to the common room, growing slightly surprised with the fact that Lily was still hanging around them. She usually would have left by now, because James would have made a fool of himself by trying to flatter her, but so far he hadn't said anything like that.

Remus lasted for about an hour before he couldn't stand just sitting in the common room. He left James and Lily chatting amicably with the excuse of needing to get a book from the library. They didn't even think that he was lying, and Remus knew it was because he so often went to get a book. The only problem was he didn't know exactly where she would be. He'd never really gone looking for an upset Camellia Norewood before, so he decided to wander around the quiet spots in the castle. There was always a chance she was in her dormitory but Remus sincerely hoped that wasn't the case.

The library was the third place he checked, and Remus was glad to find her at her usual table. The one that she sat with him at every time they spent the afternoon together. She was laying with her head on the table, her reddish brown hair falling in a way that shielded her face from his view. He carefully sat down across from her and waited. He'd noticed her shoulders tense when he walked up, so Remus knew she wasn't sleeping.

Five minutes passed in silence before Camellia finally lifted her head, a cold expression on her face. "If you're here to judge me in any way or act like a Gryffindor, I will not hesitate to hex you," she threatened.

Remus simply thought she sounded like _him_ after a full moon. "I'm just here," he said quietly, offering her a sad smile.

" _Why_?"

"You're upset. When people are upset they need someone to just be there. I don't see anyone else jumping at the chance to do that for you," The words were along the lines of what James and Sirius had told him whenever he ended up in the hospital wing. Over the course of his time at Hogwarts he'd realized they were true, and in that moment he thought Camellia needed to hear them too.

They stared at each other and Remus saw something flicker in her blue eyes that he couldn't recognize. "We're not even that good of friends," she said quietly. "I...I don't understand why you're doing this. People don't do that for people like me. I-I don't understand,"

She'd never seemed so small to him before, and Remus didn't know what to think. "There doesn't have to be a reason for everything. But I think that maybe we _could_ be good friends one day. However for that we have to start somewhere, so why not here?"

There was yet another silence for a few minutes before she sighed heavily and frowned at him. "I suppose you want to know why I-"

"Max explained it to James, Lily, and I,"

"Why the hell did Potter and Evans need to know?"

"Lily was actually very upset about how Rosier had treated you. James was upset as well, but more so about the fact that people were laughing. I've never seen those two work together before, but they were hell bent on finding out why you'd reacted that way and they wanted to cheer you up. But then we talked to Max and he said you might need some time. I don't think they'll tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about,"

" _Max_ wasn't supposed to tell anyone,"

"We did ask him,"

She sighed again but smiled slightly, and Remus was sure she was thinking about her younger brother. "He never was very good at keeping secrets. I don't… I know people usually suggest talking about it, but I really don't want to. I don't even want to _think_ about it,"

"Well come on then," Remus said after a slight hesitation. He stood up and extended his hand, wondering if she would actually take it, and found that she was simply staring at him warily.

"Where are we going?" she asked suspiciously.

"To take your mind off everything. Besides, if we're going to be friends we should try to get to know each other. Don't you think?"

"I promise you there's not a lot to me. I'm honestly not very interesting," she said as she stood and followed him out of the library.

"Neither am I,"

Three hours later they were still in the empty classroom they'd first gone into. Remus was on his back on the floor, looking up at Camellia, who was laying with her head hanging off the edge of the desks she was on. At the beginning they'd started with lighthearted questions that would be too personal, like their favorite colors. Camellia had laughed upon hearing that his was red and had muttered something about Gryffindors. He'd had the chance to laugh at her though, when she explained that she actually had a favorite type of _tree_ -it was oaks that she was fond of. But after questions like their birthdays-she was about three weeks older than he was-it turned. He found that she was named after her mother's favorite flower and that she was upset with her older brother, though she wouldn't say why.

As more time stretched on, they fell into silences more often than not, until Camellia glanced at him and asked, "I don't mean to sound rude and you don't have to answer, but where do all your scars come from?"

She sounded genuinely curious instead of rude, but Remus still tensed up. "I-I-" he managed.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I was just curious, honestly. I'm not saying their bad or anything like that, they're just there,"

He wanted to answer her though, to show that he trusted her, even though the truth was out of the question. "I was in an accident," he blurted. "A-um-a car accident with my father when I was young. There was a lot of glass and it…" he trailed off, unsure of where else to go with the lie.

But when he finally looked at her again, Remus found that she was looking at him, her eyes warm and soft. "You shouldn't be so ashamed," she said quietly. "Everyone has them,"

"Not like _this_ ," he muttered defensively.

She stared at him for a moment before saying, "Come here," Remus obeyed almost immediately, curious as to why she needed him closer. Without saying a word she gingerly took his hand and threaded it through her hair until he felt something that felt a lot like the scars he had. "We all have accidents," she said softly. She very quickly pulled their hands away as her face when a light shade of pink. "Everything about me is hidden, including that,"

"But-"

"The difference is, you actually have the courage to walk around with things out in the open, and everyone knows it. I'd never be able to do that. One of the bravest things you can do is bare your soul to those who don't deserve to see it, as you so often do. No wonder you're a Gryffindor," she said, chuckling lightly at the last part. She smiled at him, though it was very small, and then laid back down on the desks.

"Thank you," Remus murmured.

"It's what I do. Haven't you ever wondered _why_ they call me Slytherin's Mummy?"

"I just assumed you made everyone do their assignments or be well behaved. I didn't realize you do this kind of stuff,"

"You'd be surprised of how many younger students need it. I've seen scars a lot worse than yours, Remus,"

They fell into a calm silence after her comment, and Remus found himself pondering the things he'd learned about her that night. She made Slytherins seem more human now, because he knew things about her that didn't fit into the Slytherin stereotype. Like the fact that her favorite book was by an American muggle woman, and the way she seemed to try to keep her house peaceful and out of confrontations, even if those efforts often failed. He wondered if she was thinking the same about him, but with Gryffindors, but he didn't want to ask and interrupt their silence.

What did end up interrupting it was Remus realizing he was late for his patrol with Lily, and the fact that he knew the redhead would be furious if he made her wait much longer. He'd bade Camellia a quick goodbye-later he'd remember that she actually called him by his first name-and then run off to the Gryffindor common room.

Not many days after their time alone in the empty classroom, Remus was boarding the Hogwarts Express, pleased to be going home like everyone else was. As much as he loved school, Remus enjoyed the Christmas holiday even more. His friends provided much entertainment in their carriage, as James and Sirius couldn't stop joking around and trying to figure out what kinds of pranks they would pull on James' parents once they arrived at his home. Peter was even adding in suggestions of what they could do, while Remus watched on in amusement and chewed thoughtfully on a Chocolate Frog.

He was a bit relieved for the holiday, if he was being completely honest. While there was always a chance she would have to see him, at least Camellia wouldn't have to spend every day with Evan Rosier around and listen to him be rude to her. The Slytherin boy had been almost unbearable since getting detentions for causing a duel in Defense, and almost all of his anger was taken out on Camellia. Remus had witnessed his cruelness in the past week or so only a few times, but that didn't stop him from getting upset every time it happened. He'd actually spent the entirety of his Ancient Runes class glaring at the back of the head in front of him, which had probably looked odd to some, but it was because he was so frustrated with Rosier.

When they arrived back at King's Cross Station, Remus waved quickly to his friends who all smiled back at him before hurrying to the spot he usually met his parents at. He scanned the crowd of people for Camellia and Max, though he didn't spot them so he simply continued walking.

The holiday, for him, was quite enjoyable. It was always a quiet affair in the Lupin home though Remus thought that was far better than anything else. Besides, he got all the noise he needed at James' Christmas party, which was far more interesting that year because Lily had actually shown up instead of declining the invitation. But Remus couldn't help but think that there was another person he'd enjoy seeing there that would make the party better too.

For the life of him Remus couldn't understand what had possessed him to send her a Christmas present. As she'd said on many occasions they still weren't that great of friends, but he'd had a feeling that she wouldn't be receiving too many from anyone else. It was a simply gift anyway, and it's not like it had cost a fortune. Not that Remus actually had a fortune to spend on anyone anyway. But she did love history, he knew that, so he'd gotten her a few history books. Two of them were about muggle history because he was curious to see if she'd enjoy those too.

He'd sent her the gift five days before Christmas so her brother-he'd remembered that she'd seemed upset with him and didn't want him to know much about her-wouldn't be as likely to see it. And two days later Remus hadn't been able to stop smiling because of the pristine copies of Defense books she'd managed to send him, along with a rather nice quill. He'd momentarily felt bad because there was no way the books were inexpensive, but Remus didn't want to send them back and risk hurting her feelings. They were now displayed proudly on the top shelf of his bookcase, along with things his other friends had gotten him over the years that he held most dear.


	11. Chapter 11

Her holiday had quite simply started off horribly. She'd had to sit with Evan on the ride back to King's Cross, and almost the entire time she'd had to stay silent. Evan hadn't wanted to be bothered with the sound of her voice, or at least that's what he'd told her. Camellia could have handled that, had the boys in the carriage not started talking awfully about Remus. Camellia knew it was Evan's doing, as he still insisted that she looked at him quite often.

She physically had to bite her tongue to keep from lashing out at her fellow Slytherins as they talked about how shabby he looked. When they started calling him ugly and laughing about his scars, Camellia clamped down so hard she tasted blood.

Camellia felt awful about asking where they came from that night in the classroom. Remus had gained a lot of knowledge about her, and she'd only wanted to understand more about him. But the second she'd asked he'd very nearly shut down, and Camellia had realized that the popular, brave Gryffindor boy had insecurities just like everyone else. It had been in the moment when his eyes had widened at the scar on the back of her head that she'd decided to actually try and be friends with him.

Then again, the metallic taste of her own blood was making her think twice about that decision. At least for the time being.

When they'd finally arrived-she was sure this trip had been longer than every other one-Camellia was desperate to go find Max and Vaughn simply so she could go home. As much as she didn't want to see Vaughn, Camellia knew that was her ticket home. She could escape to her room, decorated in green and silver, and try and hide out there for the rest of the holiday. Of course she'd allow Max to come in as well, and they'd both lock Vaughn out and stay together. Her older brother would be furious yet there was nothing in her anymore that truly cared if Vaughn was mad at her. True she didn't like it, but she was getting sick of walking on eggshells around him just to make sure he was happy with her.

Eventually she found him, standing with his arms folded across his chest and a scowl on his face. He was dressed very nicely, something she wasn't used to, and another thing she wasn't used to was him frowning when he saw her approaching. He would usually be walking with her, but there had been one time, when Vaughn had first returned home from Christmas as a first year, that he'd stopped when he first saw her. He'd held his arms out and when she'd run to him giggling he'd picked her up and hugged her back.

Camellia sighed and shook the memory out of her head, focusing on his scowl instead. Her brother was not the same person he was all those years ago, and that was something she had to remember. "Vaughn," she said politely, flashing a smile that didn't meet her eyes.

"When we return home I need to speak to you," was all he said before turning his attention away from her and staring at the rest of the people on the platform. Camellia knew he was searching for Max, and she could only hope that her younger brother had enough sense to avoid saying goodbye to his Gryffindor and Hufflepuff friends away from where Vaughn would be standing.

When Max finally did come running up he was alone, which made Camellia let out a small sigh of relief. He smiled brightly, as only he could, but Vaughn simply stared at him with an expression slightly less cold than one he'd looked at her with. "Is the Christmas tree set up?" Max asked lightly, obviously trying to make everything feel okay even though it wasn't. "I was thinking that we could-"

"There'll be none of that stupid tree this year," Vaughn snapped. "I am far too busy for that, now that I am this family's leader,"

Max frowned and looked down, his cheeks a bright red. "We'll set one up," she whispered, patting the top of his head and offering him a soft smile.

She glanced at Vaughn, who'd taken to walking in front of them to make sure he hadn't heard, and was pleased to see that he was simply glaring at other as they got in his way. Camellia quickly spotted Remus-her eyes seemed to be drawn to him whenever he was near-and saw that he was chatting with and smiling at two adults that looked a lot like him.

"Don't," Max whispered, also looking at Vaughn with worry in his eyes. "Please just don't do anything to upset him, please,"

"What do you-"

"I like Remus too, Cam, but Vaughn will throw a fit if he finds out we feel that way. Just pretend like everything went as planned. I know I will,"

She wanted desperately to deny everything to him, but as Max would have no problem with her being friends with Remus she simply nodded slightly. They returned to their large home in silence after the conversation, and before Camellia could pull Max up to her room and lock them in, Vaughn gripped her upper arm and sent Max up to his own room. Once their younger brother had disappeared Vaughn threw her one of the filthiest glares she'd ever seen.

You've been a fool," he hissed, crossing the room and pouring himself a glass of firewhiskey. He drank it in one swig and threw the glass down on a table, turning to face her once more. "You've made _me_ look like a fool. Do you have any idea how hard it was to even find someone who would accept you? To be willing to _try_ and accept you? Well, Camellia? Have you any idea?"

"I-"

"I don't even want to hear it. You're ruining _everything_ for me, do you know how hard it was to convince the others that I am faithful to the cause if they hear about how you aren't?"

" _Vaughn_ -"

With a wave of his wand he silenced her, his eyes empty in a way Camellia had never seen before. She stared at him with her mouth hanging open, and he smirked at her. "You do exactly what I tell you to do. Is that so hard to understand? I've told you countless times to follow every instruction Evan Rosier gives you yet I continually hear about you failing to obey him. Do you not understand that all you need to do to survive is obey and be silent? Stop letting stupid ideas into your head. You are _nothing_ ; if I knew a spell that would silence you forever then I would use it. Hopefully then you'd finally get some sense,"

Camellia's eyes held nothing but pure hatred, though Vaughn didn't seem to care. He didn't seem to care about _her_ at this point, and it made her heart yearn for the days when that wasn't true. "We'll be attending an...event next week, and I will need you to be on your best behavior the entire time. One wrong move, Camellia, and the people we'll be with will not hesitate to kill you. If you embarrass me in front of them then I won't even be sorry,"

Her heart dropped into her stomach and she nodded stiffly, trying to keep tears from forming in her eyes. It was quite the struggle, but Vaughn never had actually been a fan of tears. "I don't want to see you again until dinner. Do you understand?"

She gave another nod before turning around and rushing upstairs, slamming her door shut and sliding to the floor against it. The holiday, which had started off awfully, was sure to end that way as well. And there wasn't a single thing she could do to change it. Camellia knew she shouldn't have done anything to anger either Vaughn or Evan, but so far the year had been _different_. She'd thought maybe her life could be different too.

Not many days after the incident with Vaughn, Camellia had been surprised to find a package sitting on her desk, probably brought there by Mina. She'd unwrapped the poorly wrapped package only to find a stack of four books, two about wizarding history and two about muggle history. She'd never really gotten into muggle history but as she loved the subject for her own kind, she figure that muggle history would be just as interesting. It had taken, to her shame, longer than it should have to figure out the gift was from Remus.

She'd cried in her room for about an hour after receiving them, because she knew that other than Max the only decent gift she would be receiving was from him and he hadn't had a single obligation to send her anything. He'd simply done it out of the goodness of his heart, and she couldn't help but be thankful to have him in her life at that moment. Not that she would admit that to anyone for the time being.

Camellia had managed to sneak out the following day and had taken the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley, where she'd asked to see the best Defense books they had. That was Remus' favorite subject, and she thought he would enjoy a nice set of them. She hadn't even thought about getting him a Christmas gift before the previous day, but now that she'd had the thought she couldn't get it out of her mind. She hoped, as she picked out three nice looking books, that it would be enough but she didn't know if she would be so lucky.

She'd sent the gift off the next day after having Mina teach her how to wrap it properly. She attached a small note that read _Happy Christmas Remus Lupin_ before stealing Vaughn's owl and letting it fly away.

After that, the best part of her holiday had been over.

Christmas itself had largely been comprised of Vaughn snapping at her over the dinner table as Max tried to shrink into nothingness. Much like herself, but Vaughn wouldn't stop his words long enough to let her. And so she sat and she took it, all the while glancing at Max and trying to send him small, comforting smiles to try and let him know that everything would be okay. Of course it wouldn't be, because Camellia had no idea how much more of her older brother she could take, but she would try for Max's sake to make everything work out all right.

That night Max slept beside her in her bed, crying himself to sleep and she tried desperately to calm him down. Vaughn had gotten worse and worse the longer they'd been gone, and they almost couldn't recognize him anymore. One thing was for sure though, and that was the fact that he was _not_ their older brother. "I'll buy a flat," she whispered to Max as she stroked his hair. Camellia was sure he was asleep so her daydreaming didn't feel as silly as it would if he were talking back to her. "As soon as I'm out of Hogwarts, and then we'll go live in it. Okay? Just you and me and Mina. We'll leave him, and we'll leave the world he wants us to join. Just be patient, Max, and try to stay brave,"

She barely felt him nod against her as she hugged him tightly, wishing for him to have lovely dreams to try and repair his day. That was all she could do though, because with Vaughn acting the way he was she couldn't risk going against him to his face.

New Year's Eve was the day of Vaughn's so called _social gathering_ that he'd written her about and told her that she would be attending. It was a formal affair that was located in the rather large Malfoy Mansion that was now owned by Lucius Malfoy and his wife, Narcissa, and Camellia detested the emerald dress that Vaughn had picked out for her. He'd apparently decided that he needed to pick her clothes if it was an important event.

Camellia had tried her hardest to look presentable, like a respectable pureblood girl, and at least Vaughn seemed pleased when she met him in the entryway. It wasn't like he was shouting words of praise, but he hadn't scowled like he had been the past few times he'd looked at her. She personally thought that she looked quite a bit like her mother that night, with her hair pinned up in a complicated manner on the top of her head, and a face that had been painted on by Mina. She wasn't one to typically wear makeup, but the house elf had explained that Vaughn had insisted. Her mother, while not the best at actually _being_ a mother, had been an influential woman.

The party would have been fun had Camellia enjoyed the company. But there was very tasty food that she sneaked bites of every time she managed to hide in the shadows, and the music playing was decent enough. But the people were quite obviously Death Eaters or supporters of the Dark Lord, and Camellia heard one too many conversations about blood supremacy to think that it was anything different.

The worst part was that halfway through Evan showed up with his father, who frowned when looking her over. For the rest of the night Evan had practically been attached to her hip, probably to make sure she wouldn't embarrass either of their families. At that point she'd strongly considered shouting out that she thought muggles were amazing just to get out of her current situation, but she also had a strong desire not to be murdered that night.

As the party was drawing to a close, Camellia along with many other people around her age, were called into a side room. Standing at the front were Lucius Malfoy, recognizable because of his pale blond hair, and two other men that Camellia didn't recognize. One looked to be about ten years older than them, and the other had a coldness about him that made Camellia want to shiver. His eyes, tinted with red, met hers and the man smirked, as if he knew her thoughts just by looking at her.

"You've all attended this gathering for a reason," Lucius said, his voice oddly bored for what seemed like such and important thing. "That reason being that you've been identified as good candidates for the next group of followers of a-"

Camellia tuned him out, already bored and annoyed with what was being said. To her absolute surprise different things started flashing through her mind, including that moment with Remus in the empty classroom when they'd been so close. There were actually quite a few moments with Remus that passed, and another thing that surprised her was the fact that his name sounded in her head without her having to think about it. And then, a pale finger was being pointed in her direction and the entire room was staring at her, identical frowns on their faces. "She could make a good spy. She's close to a Gryffindor boy,"

The voice sent shivers down her spine, but she found enough courage to reply, just as coldly. "Excuse me?"

"An Imperius Curse might be needed to make her cooperate, as I don't see obedience anywhere in her,"

"My lord, this girl-"

"This girl is Camellia Norewood, Vaughn's younger sister. I am well aware, Lucius," the man with the tinted eyes quickly. "Who is this shabby boy, Miss Norewood? Does he seem the kind to fight for a useless cause?"

The answer was a yes, as Camellia could see Remus fighting against the group she was currently with. But there was no way she would ever admit that to the man-she was starting to think he might be _him_ ; she was starting to think she was standing in front of the terrifying man known as Voldemort. "No," she said, her voice steely.

"Watch her," the man said dismissively. "She could be useful,"

As soon as Camellia returned home and went up to her room, she lost it. After a simply silencing charm that the ministry would never notice, she screamed out her frustrations and threw a vase of ten year old tulips against the wall. She'd only silenced the room so her brother's wouldn't hear. Vaughn would be furious if he knew how upset she was and Camellia didn't want to scare Max by letting him know any of what happened. _She_ was the one he looked up to know, and Camellia wanted to make sure he had a good role model. For a while Vaughn had been okay, but now she was hoping the young boy would actually take after Remus. If he could learn the sixth year's kindness, as Camellia knew he'd started getting even better at, then she would always think he would be the best person on the planet.

Thinking of Remus after what had been said about him made her feel sick, and she'd almost run to her bathroom to rid herself of the contents of her stomach. But she'd been strong enough to resist that urge, unlike so many she'd succumb to that night. As his face popped into her mind, Camellia felt a few tears trickle down her cheek.

What would he say to her if he knew what kind of party she'd just attended? Would he stare at her in horror, wonder how he could ever be foolish enough to befriend a girl like her? Would he start to hate her?

After deciding she no longer wanted to think about depressing things like that, Camellia grabbed one of her new history books from the kind Gryffindor and curled up in bed with it after changing into much better clothes. That was how she spent much of the rest of her holiday: trying to lose herself in the proven history of her world and another.

All the while she couldn't help but think that if Remus found out where she'd been and what she was now apparently being considered for, he'd think she was a monster.


	12. Chapter 12

One aspect of his personality that Remus would gladly get rid of was his tendency to worry excessively. He worried about people finding out his secret, about Sirius and his family, and the rest of his friends. And now, after receiving a short note from Max a few days before the end of the holiday he was worried about Camellia. It seemed the first year had figured out that he was close to his sister, and he'd gone to Remus over anyone else.

The note had haunted him since he'd gotten it.

 _Please help her Remus show her there's another way. She can't save herself, she's not strong enough. Please save her._

Remus had no idea what had happened to cause the note, but whatever it was had freaked Max out enough to make him write. And so instead of enjoying the remainder of his holiday, he'd simply fretted over his newfound friend. He wanted to know what, exactly, Camellia needed to be saved from and he was curious as to what way he could help her. Sure they were friends, but they still weren't incredibly close to each other. He wanted to be, especially after the books she'd gotten him because of how nice it had been, but he wasn't sure if she felt the same. There wasn't anything he could do though, besides simply trying with her.

Soon enough Remus was being escorted to the platform by his parents, trying to ignore every ache and pain in his body because the full moon had been the previous night. He had a few new scars on his arms and chest, but luckily his face had been spared this time. The new scars weren't bothering him as much at the moment though, what he was focusing on was the pounding in his head that got worse the louder the other students got.

He knew he looked sick. His face was just a touch darker than the color white, and there was a sheen of sweat on his forehead. There were bags under his eyes because he'd barely gotten any sleep, something that his friends would be sure to complain about once they saw him. But as long as they didn't realize that Remus had been throwing up the entire morning, he thought he could live with the complaints.

Remus' mother hugged him tightly, smoothing his already smooth hair and kissing his cheek. She gazed at him with worry-filled eyes before finally taking a step back and smiling at him. "You behave yourself, okay? I don't need another letter saying you've gotten in trouble with those friends of yours,"

"I don't-" he tried to argue.

But his mother smiled at him and shook her head, making Remus fall silent almost immediately. "I know you love them, and I love them for that too. So you tell them to behave as well, all right?"

Remus shrugged but smiled; his mother gave that instruction every year and his friends had started saying it before he got the chance to. "I'll see you this summer," he said softly, hugging his mother before shaking his father's hand.

His parents smiled at him proudly and nodded. "Have a good term," his father said. "Now go get on that train and find your friends. We know how much better they make you feel,"

After a slight hesitation he nodded and walked away with a small wave, climbing onto the train and immediately walking to the compartment he'd sat in with his friends ever since the Christmas of his first year. James had talked them all into carving their initials into the wood by the window, which Remus thought was extremely ridiculous, but he'd gone along with it because it made them happy.

When he arrived he found James and Peter sitting inside, laughing loudly about something Remus honestly didn't care about. As soon as he sat down next to Peter the two quieted down, looking at him in the same worried way that his mother had. "You alright, Moony?" James asked, his voice calm and soothing. "Was it a rough night?"

"Only because you guys weren't there," Remus said, offering a tired smile to his friends before leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked, trying to sound like James but failing miserable.

"I'm sleeping, Pete," Remus muttered, putting his arm over his eyes to block out the light.

What little sleep he did get in the two hours that his friends left him alone weren't that good. He could hear half of what they were saying because he was sleeping so lightly, and he could hear Sirius coming and going more often than just staying in the compartment. It wasn't until Remus heard sniffling that he thought he should pull himself out of his slumber, though it took him about five minutes to willingly open his eyes. He still felt sick.

But the sight that greeted him made him feel even sicker, something Remus hadn't really thought possible. Somehow Max had ended up in their compartment and was trying his hardest to keep quiet as tears streamed down his face. Sirius had an arm around his shoulders and was awkwardly trying to comfort him, something he didn't do very often for younger students. Lily was there as well, which was another surprise as she usually made a point of avoiding the compartment

Remus sat up almost immediately, his eyes widening significantly. "What the _hell_ is going on?" he asked quickly, trying very hard to ignore the headache that was already coming back to him.

"Oh thank _God_ you're awake, I have no idea what I'm doing," Sirius said dramatically, gently pushing Max toward him. Remus was surprised at how little he was affected when Max wrapped his arms around him, pressing his face against the older boy's shirt. "I found him surrounded by some Ravenclaws and they were teasing him and they kept bringing up his sister… I'll probably never say this again, but I'm lucky that Evans came up then because those third years were about to get hexed,"

" _Black_ ," Lily snapped, glaring at him. "I don't know how many times I have to say this today, but you _cannot_ hex third years!"

"What were they saying?"

Max simply shook his head, which everyone noticed so James cleared his throat, a frown on his face. "From what I've gathered, they were telling him that he would become a Death Eater because he has a family full of Slytherins. They went on to explain that his sister would be one too if she isn't already, and when Max tried to argue back they wouldn't let him. They just kept talking until Sirius came up and stopped what was happening,"

"Its really no reason to cry," Peter muttered, making everyone but the younger boy glare at him.

"It was very upsetting, I think," Lily said stiffly, glaring at Peter. "Imagine how _you_ would feel if someone said you would be a Death Eater. Honestly, Peter," James smiled slightly, glancing at Lily in admiration as he so often did.

Eventually the five of them calmed Max down, and the first year ended up red in the face. He'd apologized for his, as Max put it, unnecessary behavior, though Lily had quickly told him there was nothing to apologize for. The two had spent the remainder of the trip having a pleasant conversation about Potions and what Max would be learning in the future. Max did glue himself to Remus' side though, and Remus found that he really didn't mind. Max was kind of like the younger brother he'd always wanted. Of course with his condition it would be too dangerous to be around a sibling, so Remus understood why he didn't have one.

That day on the train was the first of many things. First, James, Sirius, and Peter had grown fond of Max and insisted to have the young boy around more often than not. Secondly James had decided to grow up a little, and Lily would sometimes have full conversations with him. They both seemed to like that development. However it was also the day that Camellia Norewood started to look at everyone with fear and guilt in her eyes.

The auburn haired girl had gotten even quieter than she'd been in every previous year. She still spent time with Remus in the library, but it was near silent between the two. Remus often found himself watching her sadly, with a bit of disappointment as well. After their exchange of Christmas gifts he'd been sure they were on the road to friendship, but either something had changed or he'd quite simply been wrong.

It was a Sunday near the end of the month of January that Remus got his answer.

They'd been sitting at their table in the library, each working on a last minute essay that was due the next day. Remus had been distracted the entire day, but sitting with her made it worse. After a while she'd dropped her quill to the table, a sure sign that she'd finished her work. Despite his best efforts he started to get irritated. Something was different, and Remus felt it obvious that she didn't want to be there. "If you want to go then go," he muttered, not bothering to actually look at her.

At least, he thought as she left, there'd been hesitation. For a moment she'd just sat there, her eyes surely drilling into his forehead, before she stood and hurried away. He regretted his words almost as soon as she left. Even if things were different and she wasn't really speaking to him, Remus found that he still enjoyed her company.

As time passed that day Remus worried more and more about the Slytherin, and he couldn't help but think he'd done something wrong. Maybe she'd been upset about his gift because she hadn't wanted to do that with him yet, but if she'd felt that way why would she send such a nice set of books in return? Or maybe he was pushing the friendship thing too much and she only wanted to stick with a casual nod in the corridor, so sitting with him made her uncomfortable?

He ended up leaving the library around four in the afternoon, two essays completed when he'd only planned on finishing one. He was quite proud of himself for that fact, but in the back of his mind he couldn't help but think about Camellia and what exactly had been done to change her. Max would probably know, but that would mean actually admitting to the first year that Remus was friends with his sister, and somehow he didn't think that was a good idea.

When dinner finally came around that night, Remus sat surrounded by his friends, who were having an intense debate on whether or not they should try and get Dumbledore to grant them a trip to London. Peter and James were all for it, but Sirius was wholeheartedly against it. Remus understood what he was thinking, that there was always a chance he could run into his parents, but Sirius wasn't saying that because he didn't want to look silly in front of James. Not that any of them would find it silly, because they all knew what life was like for Sirius when he was with his parents, but James had gotten so excited that he wasn't thinking about Sirius.

Remus was only a few seconds away from speaking up when there was a tap on his shoulder, and he turned around to see a worried Max behind him. "Maxwell Norewood, the perfect person!" James said loudly, grinning at the smaller boy. "What do _you_ think? Should we have a trip to London one day? Using a Portkey of course, or something like that so we don't spend all day on the train,"

"What?" Max asked, confused. "Um, I guess that would be okay but I don't, um, I mean I don't really _care_ -Remus have you seen Cam at all today?"

His friends very quickly fell silent, looking at him curiously. "Why would I have seen your sister today?"

Max rolled his eyes and frowned, but shrugged. So maybe Max knew something about Remus and Camellia, but luckily he wasn't letting on. "I don't know, you can see people in the corridors,"

"Well I haven't noticed her today," he said stiffly, fighting from glancing at the Slytherin table. Wouldn't Max have looked there? He'd never really known Camellia to miss a meal, but maybe-

"She's not there," Lily whispered in his ear. Remus nearly jumped because he'd forgotten that she was sitting on his other side, and obviously she was listening in as well.

"Sorry Max, I don't know where she is,"

The first year sighed but nodded, and walked back to his friends who were looking at him worriedly. He shook his head slightly and spoke a few words, but Remus turned his head back to his friends so he didn't see anything else. For a few minutes they sat there awkwardly, but then James brought up their previous conversation again after a moment of looking at Remus suspiciously.

A few seconds later Lily looked at him the same way. "Hey, Remus, don't we have patrol in about five minutes? Do you want to head out now?" she asked slowly.

Remus knew immediately that she was trying to get him out of the great hall so she could find out exactly what was going on, and he didn't plan on passing that up. At least then he could see if he'd be able to go off and look for her. "I thought you said that-"

"I must have forgotten to mention it; Lily and I switched with the prefects from Ravenclaw," Remus said quickly. "And yes, Lily, I think now would be a great time to leave,"

And so they stood, hurrying out of the great hall until Lily pushed him against a wall a few corridors away. "Talk, Remus, now," she said, folding her arms across her chest and frowning at him.

"I don't know what you expect me to say,"

"Don't play this game with me, Remus. Max wouldn't come ask you where his sister is if he didn't think you two at least speak. What's going on?"

"We might-" Camellia would really hate him if he told Lily, but she was rather good at seeing through lies. "-talk, on occasion, in the library,"

"Oh?"

"That's all it is, Lily. We hardly know what we're doing because we don't want anyone to know. Which means-"

"Honestly, Remus, who would I tell?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well you and James _have_ been getting closer as of late," he smirked, watching color flare in her cheeks as she narrowed her eyes at him.

"You know _sometimes_ I wonder how you can stand to be friends with them and then I remember that you do _this_ when you get backed into a corner,"

"I don't do _anything_ ," Remus said defensively, still smiling at the redhead. "Do you mind, Lily, if I maybe-"

"Of course you can go and look for her. What was I going to do, force you to start patrolling with me? It's not our night," she smiled. " _Go_ , Remus,"

A few seconds later he took off, hoping Lily would have enough sense to stay out of sight of his friends until they'd 'been on patrol' for a long enough period of time.

Once again he didn't really know where to look for her, so he went to the few places they'd spent time together. The table in the library they usually spent time at was filled with a few Hufflepuffs. He checked the Owlery because he'd seen her in there before, but Camellia was nowhere to be seen. Eventually, he just started checking classrooms. It was a longshot, because she was most likely in her dormitory or common room, but Remus was hoping that like the last time he would get lucky.

Remus finally checked the classroom they'd spent hours in, and the first thing he noticed was that someone was sitting on one of the desks, their head between their knees. For a moment he considered shutting the door and leaving them, but then he noticed the hair color. "Camellia?" he asked, hoping he was right and that he wasn't mistaking the person for her.

" _Not you_ ,"

So he was right. "You missed dinner,"

"And?"

"Max was worried,"

"Your point?"

"I… Well he asked if I knew where you were and then I got...worried, I guess, and I wanted to see where you were," At that moment she looked up at him, and Remus noticed the dried tears on her face. He'd never really thought about Slytherins crying before, but it was upsetting to see that she had. "What happened?"

Remus could practically see her mind turning over different outcomes of the situation, and he was more pleased than he should have been when she actually responded. "Evan-Evan _kissed_ me," she stated, shivering and frowning deeply.

"Oh!" It had definitely not been what he was expecting. "Well, um, that's-" He hated the thought, mainly because he still pretty much hated Evan Rosier. "-that's good, I guess,"

" _No_ ," she snapped, frowning deeply. "No, I… He did it because his father and my brother talked and decided that we were ' _progressing nicely and could do with starting the next step in our relationship'_ ," she quoted, scowling at her own words. "I… I know it shouldn't matter but do you know how upsetting that is?"

"But I thought you and Rosier were dating?"

"Well, we _are_ , but-"

"Then why is-"

"Honestly do you think I would date him by choice? He's _awful_ -don't tell him I said that-it's only because my brother called for a favor from his father. Wonderful, isn't it? He doesn't even want this, we're only doing what other people tell us to,"

"I thought that had died out!"

"Apparently not with everyone," she muttered, her voice still sounding more upset than he'd ever heard it before.

"Can't you just decide to end it?"

"And embarrass both our families? No, thanks. I don't need Vaughn hating me any more than he already does right now,"

"You know you don't have to worry so much about pleasing everyone else. Just ask Sirius, he could tell you,"

Again there was silence and she just stared at him. "Remus," she said delicately, as if he was a small child that needed to have things explained extremely carefully. "This is my _life_ , I want you to know that. This is all I am, and all I'll ever be. A people pleaser, a person that doesn't try to upset others. Why do you think I want to keep this friendship thing quiet? Because it would upset too many people. I… I am _nothing_ , Remus," she whispered, tearing her eyes away from him. "I'm nothing, and no one of importance. I'm supposed to be quiet and obedient and-"

"Well that's stupid," he interrupted, frustration settling in his mind. "Whoever told you that? Everyone's allowed to be their own person, Camellia. Just remember _that_ , okay? You've every opportunity to be something amazing, so don't limit yourself by what others say,"

They spent the rest of the night sitting in silence, each pondering the other's words.


	13. Chapter 13

If Camellia had to pick a favorite thing that Remus Lupin had ever said to her, it would have to be " _Well that's stupid_." The first reason would have to be that it was just so blunt, and she'd never imagined Remus speaking like that. The second reason was that no one had ever tried to tell her she had choices before, at least not for that area. Her life was supposed to be decided for her; it had only ever been that way.

And as much as she hated it, going against all she knew and following Remus' words completely terrified her. She would be going against the most powerful member of her family, and against an entire family that was even more powerful than her own. They'd probably never let her see Max again, and Camellia couldn't handle that. Max was pretty much her life now, what little of it she controlled, and she loved him more than she loved anyone else.

But still, the idea was interesting, and for about a week it was what her mind consistently went back to. Evan noticed her distraction, but he still hadn't managed to figure out why. That fact relieved her, as Camellia had specifically been told to avoid the Gryffindor boy. In all honesty she was actually trying to avoid Evan himself. He'd decided that he liked kissing, even if it had to be her, and Camellia had decided that she hated it. There was just _nothing_ in it. They weren't in love, they didn't want to be with each other, so it just felt pointless.

She was starting to think that this entire ordeal was going to make her hate relationships in the future. And everything involved with them. Love, she was beginning to think, was an illusion people threw out to try and make others feel miserable. At least that's what it was making _her_ feel and Camellia really didn't appreciate it.

As she walked to Potions with Anna who was chattering nonstop, Camellia tried to clear her mind so she wouldn't drown in that chain of thought for the rest of the day. Drowning was not a particularly pleasant experience, she knew that for a fact, but as of late she was remembering it more often.

The day passed with Camellia becoming more and more irritated without a good reason until the end of the day, when the Defense professor wished them all a happy Valentine's day.

It was the day of love, in the end, and Camellia had experienced none of it. The holiday would give good reason as to why she'd seen couples making out in secluded parts of the castle more than usual. Of course it was supposed to be the favorite of those in a relationship, but Evan hadn't even mentioned it to her. Not that she wanted him to, because there was always a chance that he'd start kissing her again and Camellia wasn't going to deal with that.

She ended up spending the rest of the night in her dormitory; it was the best place to be if she wanted to stay away from other people. She felt bad because she'd promised to study with Anna in the library after dinner, but Camellia wasn't too concerned with upsetting the Ravenclaw at the moment. It wasn't the first time and it most certainly wouldn't be the last, but Anna would forgive her. Hopefully.

She fell asleep at some point in time and woke early the next morning, well aware that the other girls in her dormitory were still sleeping peacefully. She was slightly jealous of them, but then again she had gone to bed before any of them so they'd probably end up with the same amount of sleep. Then again it was finally a Saturday so that probably wouldn't be true.

Camellia was stupid enough get up early on a Saturday, which meant for a good while she roamed the corridors on her own. She would have thought, as an acceptable time of morning came about, that Regulus would have come looking for her, but apparently that wasn't going to happen. It was only her _birthday_ , it wasn't like she'd want to be around friends anyway.

After realizing that her few Slytherin friends seemed to have forgotten her existence, Camellia decided to pack a few things into her school bag and head out to the grounds. They were covered in snow, but after trudging out to a tree and clearing off a spot on the ground, Camellia cast a warming charm so she couldn't feel the cold. She hated being cold anyway, but the grounds were the only place she was going to get to sulk in silence. Things had changed rapidly since the beginning of the year, and now she was alone on her birthday. Which was a day she'd always used to spend surrounded by people. Even after her parents had died she'd had Vaughn and Regulus at Hogwarts. Not that she'd want to spend the day with Vaughn anyway, and Regulus had been avoiding her lately because many of the other Slytherins weren't pleased with her.

As the day dragged on and Camellia worked on her Transfiguration reading for Professor McGonagall, she grew more and more hurt that Max hadn't even come near her. He always seemed to find her within five minutes of trying, and he wasn't likely to forget birthdays. She'd gotten multiple cards from him before he came to Hogwarts, while he stayed either at home or with a distant cousin of theirs after their parents had died. "He's probably busy," she whispered to herself, redoing the warming charm as the cold had started to seep into her skin. "He's got friends of his own, he's not supposed to be focused solely on you,"

Another five minutes went by with Camellia focusing on her textbook and trying to finish the irritating reading that she had planned on doing the next day before there was a shout from near the castle. She looked up and squinted, trying to make out what was going on when she noticed the red scarf flying in the wind. For a long moment she just stared at it, trying to figure out who the scarf belonged to because the person wearing it was currently running in her direction. "There you are!"

Not even thirty seconds later Remus Lupin came running down to her, slipping slightly on the snowy ground and throwing out his arms to catch his balance. He stopped in front of her, smiling widely, and seemingly unaware of the completely stunned expression on her face. "Excuse me?"

"I've been _looking_ for you all _day_. Never thought you'd be out here, actually, seeing as you've never seemed to be a fan of anything cold, or at least that's what Max said,"

"What are you going on about?" she asked, watching him curiously. Remus had no reason to come looking for her, especially not on this particular day, because he didn't know that it was anything special. "Why were _you_ looking for _me_?"

He smiled warmly at her, which surprisingly had her smiling right back. It had been a while since someone other than Max had looked at her like that, and it made her feel a bit better than she had been only moments ago. "Max asked me to find you,"

"And this took all day?"

"Well I got sidetracked by something else, with Max of course, and then, well, I didn't know _exactly_ where to find you so-"

"Aren't you supposed to be some kind of genius or something?"

"Where on earth did you get _that_ idea?"

"Max," Camellia said, smiling slightly at the taller boy who grinned back at her. The two had grown considerably more comfortable with each other after the night in the empty classroom, considering Camellia adored him for what he'd said to her. Not that she'd admit that to anyone. But also, she felt that Remus really wanted to be around her, and that he was happy she'd stopped pulling away. So, she tried acting more like how she would act with Max, but occasionally she slipped up and acted as she normally did. Despite that, Remus always seemed very happy to be around her now, which was an improvement over the awkwardness he used to occasionally display. "Also you always seem to pass every class without even trying, so there's that too,"

Remus rolled his eyes before nodding back to the castle. "Want to come inside? I wouldn't mind spending a bit of time with you today,"

"Don't you want to spend time with your friends?"

"You _are_ my friend,"

"I meant Potter, Black, and Pettigrew. You always seem to come around during the week, don't you want to spend time with them on the weekend?"

"Look, if you have something else to do-"

"I never said that," Camellia muttered, standing up and sending her bag back to her dormitory with a wave of her wand. "Shall we? My warming charms are starting to fade again anyway. And you're right; I absolutely _despise_ being cold,"

The pair walked to the castle together, each silent and watching warily for other people. Even though they were getting more comfortable with each other, Camellia wasn't ready for every person in the school to know that they were friends, and she was sure that Remus felt the same. It's not like he was jumping at the chance to anyway.

Though they ducked around corners and into crevices to avoid being seen by most people, Camellia quite enjoyed her walk with Remus. His sole focus seemed to be making her smile, because everything he said made the corners of her lips lift, and she kept getting a warm feeling in her chest. He talked about Max, and how much he'd grown to care for the younger Gryffindor, which quite simply pleased her because she thought the same of her younger brother.

Eventually they reached the empty classroom that she seemed to consistently meet Remus in, and the boy's smile grew. "I thought we could-" he started.

"I seem to have grown very fond of this classroom," she smiled.

"As have I,"

Moments later Remus opened the door and gave her a small push inside. Her already present smile grew as she saw Max bouncing on his heels and grinning from ear to ear. He rushed forward and threw his arms around her, happily saying, "Happy birthday Cam!" into her shoulder.

She smiled and held Max at an arm's length, raising an eyebrow. "What is this for?"

"Well I told Remus it was your birthday and he insisted that we do something because you never told him so he couldn't get you a present and-"

" _Max_ ," Remus said sharply. Camellia glanced at him to see that his cheeks had gone a light red, which made her smile again. "I didn't _insist_ on anything, don't start that,"

"Fine. Remus didn't insist. He _demanded_ -"

" _Max_!"

"Well thank you both," Camellia said, deciding to end their bickering.

Max had somehow gotten his hands on a large amount of Chocolate Frogs, and of course there were Bertie Bott's Beans for himself. Camellia suspected Remus had something to do with the candy, as his friends always seemed to have a way to sneak things into the castle. They ended up sitting on the floor and playing games, first Exploding Snap and then Max and Remus got into an intense game of chess that Camellia found quite entertaining to watch. Remus won, to no one's surprise, though he quickly called for another round so Max wouldn't be too upset.

It was quite the entertaining afternoon, which Camellia was thankful for because she'd been rather upset to end up alone on the day she turned seventeen. The entire time she munched on chocolate frogs, which the two boys didn't say a word about. Because they, unlike the others she spent her time with, didn't care at all if she had sweets.

Dinner soon came around and Camellia waved goodbye to the two boys, heading off to the great hall first so they wouldn't arrive together and look suspicious. She sat by Regulus, who offered her an apologetic smile as she sat down before turning back to listen to the other sixth years that were bragging about something or another. Evan was going on about having someone he considered decent, as _at least she listens and does almost everything he says_. Which made Camellia's jaw clench angrily, but she didn't say anything. She wasn't going to fight with Evan that night, and make the fond memories of that afternoon disappear.

Evan seemed to otherwise ignore her through dinner.

February dragged on rather slowly, though Camellia tried not to focus on the slow pace of the days. She also tried not to focus on the letters she received almost daily from Vaughn, telling her a variety of things from _be prepared for this summer_ to _make more of an effort with Evan Rosier_. Really all Evan wanted with her now was a quick kiss and silence, and Camellia had decided not to put anything into the relationship if Evan wasn't going to as well. She let him do whatever he want so he'd report back that things were going well to his father and her brother, but that was the extent of what they did together.

She began spending more time with Remus and Max together, which was incredibly entertaining. Remus really was wonderful with Max, something Camellia appreciated greatly. However he still managed to find time to spend alone with her, and for some reason they almost always ended up in the empty classroom just talking about whatever came to their minds. She learned that his middle name was John, which seemed oddly normal for his name which wasn't incredibly common. He'd said the same thing about her middle name, Gisele, which only made her roll her eyes.

As they slipped into March Camellia managed to grow more detached from the Slytherins she used to spend time with, which made her sad. But they seemed content to follow Evan and the older students around and Camellia knew she couldn't really do that. At least not to the extent that they could. So she spent more time with the Ravenclaws, and Julie from Hufflepuff, and she was happy except for at the end of the night when she had to retire to the Slytherin common room and listen to a few jeers from seventh years about how she was turning into a blood traitor. She couldn't help but wonder if that was the worst thing she could be.

She quickly determined, standing around the corner and watching some seventh years mercilessly tease a group of third years in the first weekend of March, that _no_ , it was not. Yet for a good five minutes she simply stood listening to the weak attempts of the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors in the group to try and stand up for themselves against the Slytherins that were making fun of them. She didn't know what to say, or what to do, but she knew that she wanted it to stop.

Luckily, that was when she noticed Remus and his friends walk up from the other side of the corridor, their wands already out. In that moment, she thought they were all idiots. Gryffindors were always good at spells, yes, but Slytherins were too and the Slytherins they were about to take on had another year of experience under their belt. And Camellia recognized some from the event she'd gone to over the holiday, so there was no doubt in her mind that the seventh years knew some darker spells.

A few seconds passed where her housemates pulled out their wands too, and Remus pointed in her general direction to the younger students. They seemed to hesitate, wanting to test their courage she would guess, but eventually fear one out and they sprinted past her without even sparing a glance in her direction.

Camellia resumed watching, noticing only then that Remus looked incredibly sick, and almost like he was about to empty the contents of his stomach on the shoes Sirius Black.

Not long afterwards the spells started flying and Camellia was surprised at how well the Gryffindors were doing. They surely weren't going to win whatever was happening, but they did seem to be holding their own for the time being.

The only problem, she realized, was that there were five of the Slytherins and only four of the Gryffindors. What concerned her most of all was that two seemed to have gained up on Remus, probably because they'd noticed his sickly complexion just like she had. It took only a few seconds after that realization before she slipped out from around the corner and quietly made her way. Of course they didn't really notice her, because she seemed to be able to fade into the shadows with exceptional ability when she didn't want to be seen. Which was why she quickly found herself with her wand at the back of Eva Willington's head, her voice steady as she said, "I would advise you to _put that thing down_ ,"

For a moment there was hesitation and utter confusion, though Camellia could see a look of recognition pass across Remus' face. "What do you think you're doing, Norewood?" one of the boys asked, glaring at her. "Do you have any idea what kind of damage you're doing right now? Do you know how-"

"Do you think I give a _damn_ about that right now?"

" _Camellia_ ," Remus hissed, his eyes wide. "Get _out_ of here-you-"

"Oh shut up, Lupin. She's still better than you even if she's acting like an idiot right now,"

"Hey, don't you _dare_ say that Remus is-" James Potter snapped, his face a deep red color because of his frustration.

"No one cares about what you blood traitors have to say, you filthy-"

"They're doing _exactly_ what we would do," Camellia said loudly, drawing the attention of the odd group. "If someone was teasing our housemates you'd come try and stop them too. So just leave them alone; we don't need this," She was completely crazy, she decided, as she looked at everyone's faces. The bewildered stares and hateful glares gave her a nervous flutter in her stomach, and she tried not to back down from what she knew was right. But she always used to choose the easy choice; she wasn't used to this.

"We don't need the likes of _you_ to try and-"

"For crying out loud, Sirius, she's trying to help!" Remus snapped, glancing at his friend angrily.

"They don't get to just get away with-" one of the Slytherin's said, drawing her attention in again.

"Do you all want a detention?" she asked her housemates. "Because I am _completely_ willing to go and find Professor Slughorn or Professor McGonagall and-"

Eva sneered at her then. "As if you'd actually dare,"

"You have your wand pointed at my friend," she said boldly, which was a big difference from what she felt. Remus and his friends stared at her with shocked expressions which she ignored. " _Try me_ ,"

She would be screwed if Eva decided to actually use spells against her, because while she was decent enough with defensive spells, she knew that Eva was better. The other Slytherins looked at each other, as if deciding what to do, before one of the boys gripped her wrist tightly and gave her arm a yank. "Let her go!" Remus said angrily, starting forward but being stopped by James Potter. "Hey! You're going to hurt her!"

Camellia refused to admit that her wrist actually was starting to hurt considerably. "We'll see what Rosier wants to do with you. Until then you're not getting out of our sight," Eva stated before turning on her heel and walking off down the corridor. Camellia was forced to follow along and she threw a glance back at Remus, who stared after her with wide eyes.

For a few short minutes she felt completely _free_ despite the hand gripping her wrist. She'd finally made her opinions known, and she did what she thought was right, and she'd probably forever screwed up her life, but somehow she was sure everything was going to be okay. Maybe? She didn't know, but she could hope, couldn't she?

The feeling quickly went away though, as she was forced into a chair in the common room and made to wait for Evan to return. The fight that ensued when he returned was absolutely awful, and Camellia was sure her throat was going to be raw the next morning. Evan was incredibly surprised at her fighting back, because it had never happened before, and he didn't take it well. He too ended up grabbing her wrists so tightly it hurt, and Camellia had yelled at him for that too.

When she finally managed to separate herself from him, Camellia disappeared to her dormitory and threw herself face down on her bed and tried not to completely freak out. She wasn't sure if she was even still dating Evan, though she wouldn't be terribly upset if that was the case, but she was half sure he would stay with her just to make her miserable. She'd probably get a letter from Vaughn the next morning, and he'd threaten her with more events in the summer to try and make her evil.

It seemed the one time she was true to herself would be the time when everything started to fall apart.


	14. Chapter 14

Waking up to a fight was definitely a poor experience, especially because of how rotten Remus felt. At first he thought it was just his friends arguing about something stupid, as he could clearly hear their voices, but after a few seconds of listening he picked out a fourth voice that definitely didn't sound like anyone that was normally there. Remus knew he should tell them to shut up so he could go back to sleep, or at least he wanted to because _everything_ hurt from the full moon, but he was curious as to what was going on.

"-no right to be here!" Sirius said angrily, and Remus could imagine very clearly what his friend's face would look like at that moment.

"I've just as much right as you-"

" _I'm his friend_!"

"I am too you insolent toad!"

"I don't know what he's convinced you of, but you are _not_ his friend-"

"Sirius!" James said loudly. "Shut up!"

"All three of you need to quiet down-Remus is sick!" Peter added in, finally making his voice known as well.

"I-"

"Tell me _one_ thing about him, if you two are so bloody close. Tell me _one_ -"

"His name is Remus John Lupin," He finally recognized the voice of Camellia Norewood, which confused him immensely. What would she be doing in the hospital wing? "He loves chocolate frogs and he's kind and his parents are H-"

"Where do the sca-"

"Sirius stop it!" James snapped. "Just stop; they can be friends without knowing every detail about each other. _Both_ of you care about him, and _both_ of you need to sit here in peace before you get us kicked out!"

"I didn't-" Camellia started to say, but Remus suspected James had shot her a look to silence her.

"I don't-"

"Honestly, how different are you two?"

The question shut Sirius and Camellia up rather quickly. James had a point though; the main difference that pretty much forced them to hate each other was their houses. Otherwise, the both came from pureblooded families that wanted to control them. They both had siblings in rival houses, though Remus was sure anyone would say Camellia had done a better job of handling that particular challenge.

Awkward silence enveloped the group, and after a moment Remus decided to actually open his eyes. He made the process slow, so it wouldn't look suspicious. When he did, he saw the odd sight of Sirius and Peter sitting to his left, glaring across the bed at Camellia, who was playing with her fingers and staring at the white sheet of the hospital wing that Remus was under. James was hovering over her with a nervous look on his face, as if he expected Camellia and Sirius to suddenly attack one another. A few more seconds passed before Camellia glanced at him with widening eyes, though it seemed she'd done it multiple times before. "Oh!"

"Shut _up_ -Remus!"

"Are you feeling alright?" James asked.

Remus shrugged; he'd feel better the next day and James knew that. So Remus turned his attention to Camellia, as her presence still confused him. "What _are_ you doing here?" he asked softly, attempting to take in her appearance. Her blue eyes were ringed with red and puffiness, giving the impression that she'd been crying recently. There was a downward tilt to her lips that made her look sad, and the oversized sweater she was wearing made her seem small. Her hair was in a bun near the top of her head like it normally was, though it didn't look half as perfect as usual. Remus could tell that there was something off about her, but he couldn't tell exactly what it was.

"Max told me you'd been hurt, and I, well, I wanted to make sure you were alright," she explained, messing with her sleeves nervously. The action would have gone unnoticed had a purple mark not been on her wrist. The one little mark went noticed by everyone, and Sirius stood up immediately.

"What the hell is that?"

It was almost like a switch had flipped within his friend's mind, because he suddenly seemed concerned. "What- _oh_ \- it's not what you think, Black, I-"

"They're not supposed to _hurt_ you, Norewood. It's rule number one when it comes to pureblood relationships-no physically harming one another!"

"Stop acting like you _care_ ; you look like a fool," she snapped, glancing at them all nervously. "It's not even-"

"This is why you belong in that world," Sirius said icily. "You can't ever do _anything_ to stand up for yourself," Remus wanted to speak up, to tell his friend to stop, but Camellia beat him to it with a raised voice and anger flashing in her eyes.

" _This_ ," she said, yanking her right sleeve to show four long, skinny bruises on her forearm that resembled fingers, "happened because I stood up for something. Or do you not remember what happened yesterday?"

Her tone was so venomous that she truly seemed like a Slytherin in that moment. Sirius finally shut up and stopped glaring at her. " _Camellia_ -" Remus tried, but she frowned and shook her head.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said stiffly. "But me coming was obviously a bad idea. I'll leave you to your friends,"

"Camellia-" She ignored him and turned around, walking purposefully toward the door. "Hey, stop-Hey!" Remus hurried out of the bed he was in, feeling odd in the hospital wing's pajamas-which he knew full well had been put on him by his friends-and taking a few painful steps toward the girl attempting to flee.

"Remus lay back down," James ordered, frowning at him, but like Camellia had done to him, Remus ignored his friend. "You're not well, _Remus_ -"

"Can I talk to you, please?" Remus asked loudly, making Camellia stop with her hand reaching for the door. "Just for a few minutes, it won't take long, I just-"

"I don't want to take you away from them," she muttered, glancing at his friends who were watching with either irritated or indifferent expressions.

"They'll be fine," he shrugged, glancing back at them warily. He knew they really wouldn't be pleased, but he knew they would deal with it. His friendship with Camellia was far newer, and he was still really worried about messing up. "They'll be fine, I'd just like to talk to you for a few minutes," She hesitated for a good minute before nodding slowly and following him back to where he'd been lying. "I'll see you guys in a bit, okay?"

" _What_?" Sirius asked, his face completely shocked.

"I need to talk to Camellia and I'd appreciate it if you all left. I'll see you later,"

He looked like he was about to argue, as did Peter, but James shook his head and nodded to the door. Remus was surprised at the fact that James was so ready to take his side in the matter, but he was thankful for it all the same. "We'll get you some breakfast. Some _good_ breakfast, mind you," he muttered, frowning at Remus before turning back to the other two. "Get a move on, the fast we go the sooner we can come back,"

With that his friends left, leaving him standing alone with the Slytherin girl who seemed to not want to be there. Remus decided to sit down after a few seconds, and he glanced at Camellia worriedly. She had a similar expression on her face, and Remus knew it was because he was in the hospital wing as an actual patient. She sat down gingerly not long after he did, crossing her legs underneath her and starting to play with her fingers again. "Evan would be furious if he found out I was here right now," she stated.

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me much,"

"What I don't understand is _why_ I'm here,"

"I-I had an accident last night. That's all," he lied easily, as it was something he told almost everyone who showed concern over him. Camellia raised an eyebrow though, and Remus knew immediately that she didn't believe him.

"You're lying to me right now, Remus Lupin, and I know for a fact it's not the first time,"

"Wh-"

"You have a fresh scar, on your neck. I noticed it earlier. Obviously it wasn't a car accident. I said you didn't have to tell me, and I'm a little miffed about the fact that you lied,"

"As if you've never lied to me," he retaliated almost immediately. He tended to get defensive when people got close to the subject of what he was, and Camellia was inching around it better than most.

She frowned at him, her eyes going cold. "But any lie I tell you isn't about something important,"

"And why is _this_ so important?"

"Because it's-it's-Okay it _doesn't_ matter, I was just curious, but still, principle or something like that," she muttered.

"Then it's settled. I lied, we don't have to talk about it ever again. Deal?"

"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "Are you feeling alright?"

Remus watched the coldness slip away, the act fading as she reached the point she truly cared about. "I'm _fine_ , honestly. Are _you_ alright?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Have you not seen your wrist as of late? Or looked, well, looked in a mirror?"

She made an irritated face that almost made him laugh before she examined her forearm. "This, actually, is just from bumping into a wall," she said sarcastically.

"Very funny," he said dryly.

"It was an accident," she explained. "Do you remember Eva Willington having Christopher Nithercott _escort_ me back to the Slytherin common room?" When Remus nodded she continued, saying, "He just held way too tightly. He doesn't realize exactly how strong he is. He apologized, once he realized what had happened and everyone else had left this morning. Evan had been congratulating him on it last night, and I could tell he felt bad,"

"Didn't you tell him to loosen his grip?"

"I didn't feel like hurting his feelings. He's actually really sweet, Remus, to the younger students. He was always my favorite in his year," she said thoughtfully.

"So you let yourself get hurt to avoid hurting a seventh year's feelings?"

"Precisely," she said, trying to offer him a smile that turned into more of a grimace. "They don't call me Slytherin's Mummy for nothing,"

Remus grinned at her and this time her smile actually came out, which only made him smile more. A few seconds later she started laughing, for reasons not completely understood by either of them, but Remus joined her. And it was nice.

The ended up laying side by side with half of their bodies hanging off the bed, because they were longer than it was wide. It was mostly silent, with the occasional comment on whatever their minds led them to, and Remus enjoyed the quiet. Camellia did apologize for arguing with Sirius, which Remus found surprising, but he promised to pass along the message like she wanted him to.

Sirius, he knew, would probably ignore the message and claim Camellia was just trying to get on his good side. Then again, for the briefest of moments he'd seemed concerned about her, so maybe there was still hope. For all he knew Camellia and Sirius could end up being the best of friends-though he seriously doubted that.

Eventually James, Sirius and Peter came back to the hospital wing, and Camellia sat up in a nervous fashion that didn't seem like her. Remus sat up as well, feeling much better than he had when he'd woken that morning. It was probably because Camellia had come for him; he didn't know exactly why but that thought made him smile slightly. Camellia quickly bade her goodbye before nodding once at his friends as she hurried out of the room.

James had a goofy grin of his face that made Remus shift uncomfortably, as he figured he couldn't even begin to imagine what James was thinking. Sirius quite simply looked irritated, though Remus could tell he was trying to contain that feeling as best he could. Peter had a similar expression, though he was holding a plate that Remus would guess was for himself. "Thanks, Pete," he said softly, glancing toward the edge of the bed. "I'm just going to change into-"

"Oh _hell_ no," Sirius snapped. "We demand an explanation. _Now_ , Moony,"

"There's not-"

"As if we're actually going to believe that," James smirked. "Lily told me there was something going on there, but I didn't actually believe her,"

"Been hanging around Lily, have you? How's that going?"

"You'd _know_ if you didn't go running off every day. Merlin, is that where you've been going? To spend time with _her_?"

"No, Sirius-"

"Don't lie, Remus," Peter piped up, seeming almost more upset in that moment than Sirius did, which was a definite surprise.

"Not every day," he muttered, glancing at his friends nervously. "Look, you can't be mad at me. I didn't _do_ anything wrong and-and I-I'm not sorry, okay? She-Camellia-She _needed_ someone, because her friends either didn't understand or didn't care and I _did_ and I'd think you three would understand doing that for someone, as that's what you did for _me_ and I-"

"Remus _calm down_ ," James said immediately, concern taking over the amusement on his face. "We may not like it-Okay, we're definitely not big fans of it, but that doesn't mean we're going to be mad at you. A little irritated you didn't just _tell_ us, but we're not going to stop being friends with you, or whatever you're worried about,"

Intense relief flooded through him and Remus let out a breath of relief he hadn't really realized he'd been holding in. He'd switched to being defensive the moment his friends had walked back into the room, because he was terrified of the fight that was sure to ensue. "I don't-"

"We know you don't understand," Sirius said, his voice a bit stiffer than normal, but he was quite obviously trying to keep it light. "I wouldn't have understood, _she_ wouldn't understand, but obviously I'm a faster learner than you both. It's because we're friends, Remus. Good ones at that. You're too caught up in your whole idiotic _monster_ idea to think that we won't just leave you, but it's _not_ going to happen. This isn't the worst thing you could do,"

"But I-"

"Merlin, are you trying to _convince_ us to stop speaking to you? You're going to have to do a lot better than this, if that's your intention," James said, smiling slightly. "Now _eat_. We know you're hungry,"

And so he did, while his friends fell back into a normal mood and talked and laughed as they sat around him. Soon enough Remus finished and changed into normal clothes, which he was very happy about, and he left with his friends to head back to the Gryffindor common room. They ended up sitting around a small table, and soon enough Lily had joined them, dragging her friends over before sitting on the arm of James' chair. Remus couldn't help but notice his friend's bright smile at that action. Another few minutes passed before Max timidly came over to ask Remus if he was alright, but the small boy was greeted with such enthusiasm that he ended up sitting with the older students, smiling brightly every time he was addressed.

Over the course of the next few weeks Remus noticed his friends making an actual effort to at least be courteous to Camellia Norewood. Peter would smile nervously at her, and at times Remus was sure Peter thought she was going to actually bite him. Sirius wasn't glaring, which was a big enough step for him, though at one point in time he'd seen the shaggy haired boy approach her and politely ask if she would help him find a book in the library. Remus had been a few feet away, as he'd been going to meet Camellia in the library, and he'd been so shocked that he'd just stood there and watched the awkward exchange. James and Lily seemed to be making the biggest effort of all. James would wave and smile at the girl in the middle of class, which always made her turn a bright shade of red as she nodded at him. Remus had seen Lily go up in Potions and help her and a Ravenclaw, and then she'd walked with the two out of class.

It was kind of awkward, and Remus consistently found himself rolling his eyes as Camellia complained to him about the Gryffindors coming up to her. Apparently Max's friends had decided that she was okay as well, because they would flank the girl proudly if Max was around them. She didn't really seem to mind his friends, as she only ever complained about James embarrassing her, but she'd seemed slightly cheery when Remus told her James did that to people he thought were good.

It was odd, too, that they could openly be _friends_. The Slytherins all knew, and his friends knew, and there hadn't been anyone else they'd been worried about upsetting. Once in a while he would switch seats and sit by her in class, though that was rare because some of the sixth year boys seemed determined to draw her back to everything she was used to. Sometimes Remus could feel her slipping away from him, and he couldn't begin to imagine what the Slytherins were saying to her to enable that. But it would pass after a few days and she would go back to laughing and joking with him, with the occasional serious talk in their classroom when the topic felt personal.

All in all, Remus was thrilled with the changes. As much as he despised being stuck in the hospital wing after a full moon, he couldn't help but be thankful for the last time it happened. Things had started seriously changing for the better after that day, at least for him.


	15. Chapter 15

To be quite frank, her life was falling apart.

That was it. There wasn't much else for her to say. Okay, maybe not her _entire_ life, but her life with Vaughn and a lot of the Slytherins was. Anna and Julie were constantly dragging her away to spend time with them, so those friendships were getting better. Some of the Gryffindors were being nice to her-which was _incredibly_ unnerving-and her friendship with Remus was stronger than it had ever been before.

But all of that meant she was losing Regulus, because he was furious with her for, well, _everything_ that she'd done. They'd had an enormous screaming match in the common room only two days after she'd visited Remus in the hospital wing, and it had only ended because a first year had gotten nervous and had run to get Professor Slughorn. Regulus had been dragged out of the room by his friends, and Camellia had been lectured heavily by their head of house.

Her relationship with Evan had _definitely_ ended. She'd received letters from Vaughn almost every day, telling her that she was in trouble and would be punished accordingly upon returning home. Yet she couldn't be thankful for the fact that she no longer had to kiss Evan Rosier.

And yet the boys in her year-the girls couldn't care less about her-seemed bound and determined to force her back to the way things had been. Severus was make sure to sit with her if he could manage it, and at times a few of the others would flank her side as she walked to class. Evan sometimes approached her, telling her that if she worked hard enough at 'recovering' as he put it, from 'this horrible incident'-being friends with Remus-then maybe, just _maybe_ , they could get back together. She didn't want that, the thought disturbed her greatly, so most of the time she ignored him. But if Evan had one good quality, it was that he never gave up. Every now and then he'd bring up Max, and everything he and the other boys could do to him. _Those_ were the times Camellia would withdraw into herself, acting as she had in every year previously. But once that happened the boys usually stopped, thinking they'd won, and then she went back to Remus. Luckily they hadn't figured out that pattern yet.

Life wasn't good. She could never describe it that way, but at least it was bearable. Remus made it better, she always seemed to end up smiling when he was around.

Which was why she'd been so excited for their next Hogsmeade visit. Remus had convinced his friends that _no_ , they did not need to go together, and he'd planned to go with her. They didn't have a set plan for the day, but Remus had promised that Chocolate Frogs would be included in the day. So obviously it would be a better day than the one she'd spent with Evan in Hogsmeade. But that day was ruined by the simplest of packages from Vaughn. She'd gotten it at dinner the night before their outing, and enclosed had been a brand new emerald colored dress that was far more modest than the last one he'd sent her.

Camellia's heart had dropped to the pit of her stomach as she'd stared at the dress in her lap, halfheartedly praying that it wouldn't be for what she thought it would. But then, of course, she'd read the note underneath it. _You have another chance tomorrow, with someone new. Do NOT screw this up, Camellia, or I'll never be able to find someone for you. At least not someone decent. -Vaughn_

It had been like some cruel twist of fate. She was _finally_ free of her pitiful relationship with Evan, and all of the sudden she was being thrown into another. The pleasant idea of choosing her own fate had been in her mind for a few weeks before it was snatched away. The realization hit her hard, and she'd run out of the great hall in a panic before anyone could see the tears forming in her eyes.

Remus had found her that night, as he always seemed to when she was upset, and listened as she shakily explained that she could no longer attend Hogsmeade with him. He'd been disappointed, she could tell, especially when she wouldn't explain why.

Well, he would find out soon enough.

The next day she dressed slowly in the emerald dress, fixing her hair into a tight bun, and she hoped whoever it was she was dating now would appreciate how nice it looked. She stared into the mirror for a few seconds with empty eyes, before painting a polite smile on her face and heading toward the entrance hall.

The smile remained as she stood waiting near the doors, though it wasn't directed at anyone in particular. In fact, she was avoiding looking at _anyone_ , for fear of seeing Remus or her date. Remus would be mad. They would fight. It would be _over_ and everything would go back to normal and she would be forced to become a Death Eater and- "Camellia? I thought you couldn't go? Why-Why do you look so nice?" Remus asked.

"I-I just couldn't go with _you_ ,"

James Potter, who he was standing next to, narrowed his eyes suspiciously. To her surprise, Sirius Black seemed to understand almost immediately, because he looked at her knowingly. "What? I thought-"

"I have a date, Remus,"

He paused then, an understanding that matched Sirius' making itself clear on his face. As she'd expected, he looked downright furious. "Someone you chose?" he asked stiffly.

"No," Her voice was oddly strong for how small she felt in that moment.

"I thought you were done with all of that,"

"I don't have a _choice_ -"

"No, you _always_ have a choice. You're just choosing not to make any. For M-"

"You have no right to be mad at me, Remus Lupin," she said defiantly, her eyes narrowing in a way that would make Regulus proud. A pang went through her heart at the thought; she _missed_ her best friend, despite how much he irritated her. "As much as he preach about not letting anyone choose things for me, _you're_ trying to do the same thing. I didn't want any of this-you made me choose it!"

"I didn't make you do anything!" he retaliated, his eyes flashing angrily.

"Moony calm down-" James tried, but Remus ignored him.

"You did, and I don't appreciate it," she stated. It was a lie. But then again, that was her life, wasn't it?

"And _I_ don't appreciate having to go find you every time you run off _crying_ , but at least I-"

Her cheeks went red with embarrassment, and her eyes narrowed with actual anger. "Sorry to inconvenience you, _Lupin_ ,"

"Sorry you can't think for yourself, _Norewood_ ,"

" _I_ think," came a deep, familiar voice from being her, "that Camellia is perfectly capable of thinking for herself. Let's let her choose now, shall we Lupin? Would you like to stay here and continue being insulted, or come with me and have a nice time in Hogsmeade?"

Camellia turned around to face her favorite seventh year Slytherin, and she immediately felt a little better about the day. At least Christopher wouldn't intentionally upset her. Or so she hoped. But it was highly unlikely that he would be her companion for the day. Surely Vaughn would have found him too nice, and he wouldn't want her to be with someone nice. At least not now.

Still, Camellia found herself linking arms with the older boy and glancing angrily at Remus as they passed him. She knew she would regret arguing with him later-as _surely_ it meant their friendship was over-but at least she hadn't let him win the argument. Well, no one had really won but she'd pretty much gotten the last word by walking away. And she certainly wouldn't let on how upset she was at the prospect of losing him to Christopher, as it would probably just irritate him.

It wasn't until they began walking down the path to Hogsmeade that Camellia spoke again. "Christopher,"

He paused for a moment and glanced at her, a wide smile on his face. "Yes?"

"It's, um, it's been nice to walk with you, but I'm supposed to be meeting someone,"

"I know,"

"Well, then you know that I should be going to meet them. I'm already late and I don't want to-"

"Actually, you're right on time,"

"Excuse me?"

"Didn't your brother tell you that it was me? I would have thought he'd at least mention my name. No wonder you've been so quiet-here I was thinking you hated my guts,"

" _Of course I don't_ -I am so sorry you thought that, I-"

"Hey, calm down. I thought it was my fault anyway, so you've nothing to apologize for,"

Her shoulders immediately started tensing despite his words, and her polite smile came back into place. "Well-"

"Camellia you're not going to have any fun today if you're tense the entire time. Relax, okay? I'm not nearly as evil as I seem," There was something in his eyes as he said those words that convinced Camellia that there was some underlying meaning. She didn't know what that meaning was, but given enough time she was sure she could figure it out. Camellia wasn't extremely intelligent like Remus, or even Lily Evans, but she could usually figure things out. Besides, she was curious now, and curiosity irritated her enough into finding an answer.

They ended up spending much of the day in the Three Broomsticks, drinking butterbeer and eating lunch. Christopher paid for her meal, which she found very sweet, and unlike Evan he actually wanted to hold a conversation with her. It was, she thought, more along the lines of how a relationship should be. Yet she knew it still wasn't right. She should get to choose who to be with. But at least Christopher would be kind to her.

After deciding they'd been in the pub for too long, the pair wandered around the small town for about two hours, chatting amicably about nothing serious, and having what Camellia would call a successful date. As much as she liked Christopher as a person he wasn't someone she'd ever feel much of anything else for. He seemed to feel the same, as far as she could tell, which made her feel more comfortable for a reason she didn't quite know.

She started to realize, however, that it was nearly impossible to avoid Remus for an entire day. At least now that her eyes seemed drawn to him whenever he was around. She caught sight of him smiling and laughing with his friends and Camellia only felt sad, even though she wanted to feel happy for him. He wouldn't mind that their friendship was sure to fall apart, because he had the most wonderful friends to go back to. Camellia would have to work to get Regulus back, and she knew that her friends in other houses had better friends themselves.

Christopher seemed to notice her getting upset each time they passed the Gryffindors, which surprised her. Most tended to be oblivious to how she felt, and Camellia was usually okay with that. He didn't comment though, at least not until they ended up outside the fence by the appropriately named Shrieking Shack. Christopher led her to a large rock and sat her down, smiling nervously. Camellia was confused by the action, but she offered him a smile as well, and she hoped he would find that polite enough.

"I thought it would be a good idea for us to talk about the expectations of this relationship before we move forward,"

"Of course. I-I understand that you'll want obedience if we-"

"I'm going to stop you there," he said quickly, holding out a hand and shaking his head. "All of these things, they might be great for some people, but I… Well as you know this was neither of our choices," She nodded stiffly, confused as to where Christopher was going with the conversation. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, she was sure, especially after Evan Rosier. "Therefore, my idea is we both do the necessary actions in front of others to appease them, but we're both free to do whatever we please when we're not worried about appearances,"

"What-"

"If you don't wish to follow that, I'll have to tell my parents and your brother that it won't work out,"

There was a moment of hesitation before Camellia muttered, "And you said you _weren't_ as evil as you looked,"

She was worried for a moment that she would irritate him, but then Christopher laughed and smiled at her, knocking their shoulders together lightly. "Just you wait," he said. "Now, run off and find Lupin,"

"Excuse me?"

"You've been staring at him every time he walks by, and I _know_ you two have something going on,"

"There's nothing there. We're...We're not even friends anymore, we can't be,"

"He seemed to be friends with you this morning. What happened?"

"We fought. I know you saw that,"

Christopher looked at her sadly. "You have a lot to learn. The world isn't exactly the same as it is in Slytherin,"

"But still-"

" _Go_ , Camellia. As I said, we can do whatever we want as long as it doesn't make us look suspicious,"

She strongly considered it, for about five seconds. "I'm not going to chase after him. I'd look pathetic,"

"Don't tell me I have to drag-" Loud laughter made him stop and look behind them, only to see Remus walking up with his friends. Camellia couldn't help but sigh with irritation and try to shrink down so he wouldn't be able to see her. "Well we _certainly_ are lucky,"

"Christopher don't-"

"Well hello!" he said loudly, ignoring her and standing up with a bright smile. The Gryffindor boys stopped, looking curiously in their direction, and Camellia found Remus frown when he saw her. "Just the people I was looking for!"

"What do you want, Nithercott?" Sirius Black asked in an irritated tone.

"My friend here has been desperately pining over Lupin here all day-"

" _Christopher_!" Camellia shouted, any chance of keeping her calm completely gone at his words. "I was _not_ pining-Don't laugh at me! You five are the _worst_ - _Remus_ -" She stood up and frantically put her hand over Christopher's mouth, and the older boy simply smiled at her. "I can't _believe_ you would say such a thing-"

"It's true!" he protested, his voice coming out muffled. But he didn't fight to remove her hand, he simply looked happily at Remus. Who, Camellia noticed as she looked at him, had gone a brilliant shade of red and was quieting his friends down. "Thinks you can't be friends, as you've fought and-no-" he started, though Camellia quickly whipped out her wand and silenced him. It would only hold for a few seconds-after all, she wasn't stupid enough to cast a serious charm on him and end up upsetting the boy.

"Don't listen to him, any of you. He's-He's what we call deranged and he-"

"Did you honestly think we wouldn't be friends anymore?" Remus interrupted, glancing nervously at Sirius who had a knowing expression on his face. "Just because we got into a fight? It was my fault anyway, I was being far too harsh,"

"But-"

"Why would you ever think we'd stop being friends because of something as stupid as that?"

Camellia fell silent, and everyone stared at her as if they expected her to actually answer the question. She had no intention to; in fact it was Christopher that once again spoke up. "Haven't you noticed, any of you?"

"Noticed what, exactly, Nithercott?" James Potter asked, his voice far more friendlier than it normally would have been.

"She and Regulus had a fight, a few days after your friendship with her became common knowledge, and they haven't talked since,"

Sirius looked surprised, she noticed, and slightly worried at the same time. James glanced at him with a similar expression, but Sirius shook his head and the two went back to staring at her. Camellia could feel her cheeks warming considerably but she stared back, unwilling to lower her gaze. "Could I talk to you for a moment? Alone?" Remus asked after a rather tense moment.

"Christopher do you mind if-"

"I do believe I'm the one who told you to go in the first place. Besides, I have other things to do today,"

With that statement he turned, apparating. Camellia raised an eyebrow at that-wondering how far he had to go to do whatever it was he intended to do that day-but then quickly looked back to Remus and his friends. It was Peter Pettigrew, she noticed, who looked the most upset about the idea of their plans being ruined. But James Potter had a sly smile on his face, and even Sirius Black looked partially amused. "Well go on you two," James said. "And for your information, Norewood, Remus had been absolutely _pining_ after you all day as-"

Remus punched his friend's arm and Camellia fought laughter at the betrayed expressions the two boys wore. "I was _not_ -"

"Just be embarrassed Remus. It's only fair," she stated, sending him a lopsided grin that made him smile back.

Before she knew it, they were back in their empty classroom-and yes, she was starting to think of it as their own.

As the rest of the year dragged on, Camellia found herself splitting time with Remus, and occasionally his friends which got progressively less uncomfortable, Max, her few friends, and Christopher. Their relationship was completely fake, and both of them knew it, though Camellia would guess that was what was making them such good friends. They kissed on occasion, when they felt pressured to by others, but a lot of times they ended up playing chess in the common room and trying to act as much like a couple as possible without actually getting too involved.

And soon enough, she was standing at the platform in Hogsmeade with the rest of the students, waiting somewhat patiently for the train to arrive. Christopher, fresh out of his N.E.W.T. exams, had kissed her cheek and promised to meet up with her soon, to keep up appearances, before running off to go celebrate the end of his education with his friends.

There'd been a moment of pure happiness when she'd accidentally locked eyes with Regulus, and he'd nodded at her while his lips formed a small smile.

But unlike normal, when she had those moments, it didn't disappear. Because then Max and Remus had come running over, both with red cheeks and amazingly childish expressions. Not even five seconds later Remus' friends had joined them, angrily demanded that Remus dry them off, as they were all soaking wet. Max explained that it was payback for what the boys had done to her at the beginning of the year. After bickering for what felt like a long time, the three boys left and Camellia spotted them walking eagerly up to Lily Evans, who simply laughed and pulled out her wand. Probably to dry them off, as Remus had still refused to do it in the end.

Camellia had sat with Max and Remus, talking and laughing the entire time. It felt _right_ , and normal, and she immediately wondered why her life had never been like this before. Of course, she knew it was because she'd done a few minimal things to stand up for herself, and she'd made one of the most wonderful friends she suspected she'd ever have.

She and Max parted ways with Remus before stepping onto the platform at King's Cross, Max promising to write to Remus as often as he could, and Remus immediately promising to always respond. Camellia was once again pleased with the fact that Remus cared so much for her younger brother. He told her he'd write her as well, and Camellia had simply smiled at him.

She felt far better than she had the last time she'd gone home, until she saw Vaughn's face. He was staring at her with such hatred in his cold, blue eyes that Camellia nearly faltered. Her smile definitely fell away. As soon as they reached him Vaughn spoke, his voice cold. "You will be confined to your room for the remainder of the summer, with the exception of meeting Christopher Nithercott to continue that relationship. If I see any owls coming in and out of your room then I will confiscate everything given to you, and I will do as I see fit after reading it,"

And that was the start of the second worst experience Camellia had ever faced.


	16. Chapter 16

Every time the Norewood's went home, Remus couldn't help but feel like they weren't safe. Especially Camellia; she always seemed to be in some sort of predicament that wouldn't allow her to say anything to him. It was a letter from Max, about two hours after he arrived home, that told him something was wrong. The soon to be twelve year old boy had explained that he couldn't write to Camellia, for her own sake, and that his own letters would have to be short and sparse. He didn't say why, a fact Remus was disappointed by, but Remus had noticed what looked like tear drops on the piece of parchment. His chest had constricted at the sight and he'd shoved the letter in his friend's faces as soon as he'd seen them, claiming they needed to go and rescue the siblings.

His friends had set him straight, explaining that even if they _could_ do something, they couldn't force Camellia to come along, and without Camellia they wouldn't get Max to come as well. Their argument being that as much as she sometimes seemed like she was going to break away from what her life was, she wasn't strong enough to do it yet. Remus knew it was true, and he knew that it would take some major event to make her completely forsake everything she'd always known, but as time passed he grew increasingly worried about what that event would be.

The few letters he did receive from Max over the summer definitely didn't help anything. Half the time the boy would talk about how Camellia was pretty much like a prisoner in her own home-if _that_ hadn't made him want to go rescue her, he didn't know what would-and he also wrote some of the most nerve-wracking things Remus had read. In any other situation the words, _They're making her do bad things, Remus. I don't know what to do_ might not have been quite as bad, but Remus couldn't get them out of his head as he worried about the siblings. But the most chilling thing Max had written had to be, _Her eyes don't even look like her eyes anymore, Remus. They're...They're empty, or sad, or...She needs help. She's in trouble. I don't know what to do._

That was the letter that Remus used the one time his friends were about five seconds from agreeing that they had to go find and help the two. But then Lily had arrived, as they'd been meeting at the Three Broomsticks, along with some other girls in their year, and all talk of helping the Norewood's had been forgotten. By the end of the day, Remus was the only one who remembered.

His parents noticed that he was off the entire summer, and though they repeatedly tried to find out what wrong the only thing he let out was that his friend was in trouble. They assumed that meant Sirius, because they knew what his life had been like, and he didn't bother to correct them. His friends hardly came to his house, it was usually James' where they gathered, so his parents didn't get the chance to look at Sirius and realize that they'd been wrong.

It was completely by chance that he was at Diagon Alley with Lily one day in the middle of July, on the same day as Max's birthday. They were actually there trying to find a small gift they could either send him or give to him at the start of the next school year, and as Remus and Lily were to most taken with the younger Gryffindor they'd been the ones to remember his birthday. As far as Remus knew, the younger boy hadn't been away from home without his older brother since returning home.

Which was why, when Remus spotted familiar brown hair walking a ways ahead of him and Lily, he immediately stood up straighter and squinted, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. It couldn't possibly be Max, he knew, all alone? The boy was only twelve now; why would he be alone in Diagon Alley? Despite his doubts Remus grabbed Lily's hand and pulled her through the crowd of people, trying to get them to part faster before he lost sight of the young boy. "Max!" he called loudly, his eyes focused on the brown hair. But, as he suspected, when he reached the boy it wasn't the Gryffindor he'd come to care so much about. It was actually a boy that looked to be maybe a year younger than Remus himself, and he quickly apologized for the confusion.

"What was that all about?" Lily asked in a huff, brushing hair out of her face as she frowned at Remus.

"I thought I saw-" he began, trying to keep the defeated tone out of his voice, when he was cut off by a timid voice saying his last name.

When he turned around, there was a small house elf with incredibly large eyes and ears that seemed to droop in a similar fashion to her lips. "Excuse me, Mr. Lupin?" Remus stared at the small creature in confusion, an expression that Lily matched almost immediately. "You is Mr. Lupin, right?"

"I-Yes, I am, but-who are _you_?"

"Mina, Sir. Master Maxwell asked me to fetch you, he did, and-"

"Do you mean Max Norewood?" Lily interrupted, her eyebrows raising.

"Yes, Miss-He made Mina bring him to Diagon Alley, even though I have told him it was not smart," Her speech, Remus noticed, sometimes slipped into the way normal house elves talked, and at other times it sounded very practiced, almost like someone had taught her to speak correctly.

"Do you mean to say Max is _here_?"

"Yes, Sir, he is breaking Master Vaughn's rules for himself and Mistress Camellia-" the small house elf's eyes welled with tears at Camellia's name, which worried Remus even more. "But Master Vaughn is away, and Master Maxwell says he needed you, and he says I must find you and bring him to you,"

"Can you bring us to him, Mina?" Lily asked politely, a worried expression on her face as well.

"Master Maxwell says only Mr. Lupin-"

"Max knows her as well; they're good friends," Remus said. "Please take us to him?"

The small elf nodded after a moment of hesitation and grabbed their hands, apparating. When they landed, they found themselves in a nearly empty side street in Diagon Alley. "Mina?" a voice called out, one that Remus recognized immediately. "Mina, is that you?"

"I finds Mr. Lupin for you, Master Maxwell!" the house elf said, pushing Remus forward slightly. Suddenly Max's head poked out from behind a garbage bin, and within seconds large tears were falling down his cheeks. He ran over to Remus and threw his arms around the older boy's middle, hugging him tightly.

"Max!" Lily rushed forward and went to her knees, brushing hair out of the young boy's face as he turned his head to look at her. "Max, what's going on? You have to tell Remus and I so we can help you,"

For a second there was silence, but then the house elf disappeared and Max's silent tears suddenly turned to heaving sobs. "I-I didn't know what else to d-do!" he cried, once again burying his face in Remus' chest. "There's still another m-month and a h-half until school but C-C-Cam won't last that long-"

"What's wrong with Camellia, Max?" Remus asked quickly, fighting to keep any panic out of his voice.

"Vaughn got mad at her for r-ruining things with Evan Rosier and he p-p-punished her but then his f-friends-his _b-bad_ friends-cursed her and s-she-"

"What do you mean his _bad_ friends?"

"His D-Death Eater f-friends, they made her do a-anything they told her to with a s-spell and she-"

Lily's head immediately snapped up to look at Remus, her lips mouthing the words, 'Imperius Curse?' as she glanced between him and Max. He nodded stiffly, as it was pretty much the only plausible scenario. "Max? Is Vaughn like his friends?" Lily asked gently, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder in a comforting manner. The small boy could only nod and press his face into Remus again, trying to control his sobs.

Remus felt as though his stomach was actually twisting at the admission, and all he wanted in that moment was to take Max home with him so he would be safe. But then, he realized, there was a strong possibility Vaughn Norewood would take that out on Camellia Norewood and Remus knew that wasn't an option. "Max?" he asked, trying his best to use a soothing tone. He could really have used Camellia in that moment. "Does Vaughn want Camellia to be like him?" Another nod made Remus want to throw up. "Does he-does he want _you_ to be like him too?" Max let out another sob along with yet another nod. At that Remus very much wanted to go find Vaughn Norewood and punch him in the nose.

Lily stared at the boy with widening eyes, and Remus could tell she was trying to hold back a string of insults about Vaughn Norewood. Remus was having a hard time doing the same. "Max, Camellia isn't already like your brother, is she?"

At last the boy's face looked relieved, and he shook his head. Max took a few deep breaths, his cries slowing, before he said, "Cam convinced him to hold off on that until next year, at least. She-She doesn't want it, but-"

"How did she manage that?" Remus asked.

"I don't know, really. Vaughn was nicer for a few days because Christopher left her, but then he-"

"Christopher _left_ her?" Lily interrupted. "But they always seemed so good together!" She seemed upset by the news, so Remus decided not to mention that it was not the time for that kind of conversation. He was also trying to fight a happy feeling from taking over his mind. There wasn't even a _reason_ to be happy.

"It was all a lie, that's what Cam told me. He was in love with a muggle and he used came as a distraction so no one would get suspicious. He ran away with the girl a couple of weeks ago,"

Lily frowned at the information, but after a second she shook her head and switched topics. "Max it was very brave of you to come find Remus," she said soothingly. "But we need to take you to the Ministry now, so-"

Max's eyes went wide and he shook his head wildly. "No! No, V-Vaughn and his friends are there! They'll h-hurt me if they know, I'm sure of it-or they'll hurt Cam!"

"What do you mean they're at the Ministry?"

"They work there, and they cover things up, and-"

"Okay, we won't go to the Ministry," Remus said, searching for any way to help the boy. "We'll-you can-I'm sure you could come stay with me,"

"Remus you can't do that," Lily said immediately.

"Why-"

"Do you _want_ to be arrested? He's under age; the aurors would come after either of us if we take him, because we don't have permission from a guardian. And his brother would surely claim wrongdoing-it just can't happen,"

"But I don't want to go home! I-"

"Max," Lily interrupted. Max fell silent, gazing at the girl with pleading eyes and a trembling bottom lip. "I know you don't want to, but Remus and I… We need you to be brave again and go back home," He opened his mouth to protest, as did Remus, but Lily silenced them by holding up a hand. "I don't like it either, _believe_ me. If I had any other idea I would share it, but I don't. Anything we do will either make us targets or get us arrested. This is the only way, for right now at least,"

"But-" Remus began, though Max then pulled away and nodded slowly.

"Will I be a real Gryffindor if I do? I haven't done anything brave yet and one Ravenclaw said I wasn't a real Gryffindor if I haven't done anything brave,"

"Don't listen to them. You're the bravest twelve year old I know, Max," Remus stated, smiling sadly. "But I think… I think Lily's right,"

For a few seconds Max looked absolutely terrified, but he nodded once again and stood a little straighter. "I'll look after Cam," he decided, his face taking on a determined expression. "I'll take care of her until we find a way. Please just… just try to find a way?"

"We wouldn't dream of doing anything else," Lily said.

And indeed, that was how Remus and Lily spent much of the rest of their summers, save the four days Remus was too sick. They ended up spending almost every day in James' bedroom-they'd gone straight to him and Sirius after seeing Max-coming up with impossible ways to help Max and Camellia. Every plan Sirius had a part of included his new motorbike, but everyone else always agreed that was ridiculous. Sirius could hardly even ride the thing yet. And even though they were all adults, or close enough, there honestly wasn't much they could do without a probability of injury or death involved. And some of that chance always came from how much the plan would upset their parents.

The longer they went with no plan, the more agitated Remus got. He wanted to help, or at least do _something_ , especially because he hadn't heard from Max in a while. The younger boy felt like family, and Remus knew that was why he was so desperate to help him. But thoughts like those led to the growing, conflicting emotions Remus had about Camellia. He didn't think of her like family because every time he tried it simply felt weird, yet he wanted to help her more than he wanted to help Max. There was no logical explanation as to why. He'd shared those thoughts with James, because _somehow_ he'd matured into a normal person over the course of the last year, but he hadn't really gotten the response he'd hoped for.

James claimed it was because he was starting to fall in love with Camellia Norewood.

Remus thought his friend was an idiot and had stalked out of the house.

There were many reasons why James' idea couldn't be true. To start, Remus had never felt that way about anyone. Besides, what he felt for Camellia had started out similar to what he felt for Lily. Sure it had changed drastically since the start, but there were still a few similarities. And it wasn't like he was in love with Lily. Another reason-the _main_ reason-was because it would be dangerous, and it would be asking far too much for someone else to love him. If he fell in love with Camellia, or anyone for that matter, he would be asking them to love a monster. And what if he slipped up on a full moon and hurt them? He'd never forgive himself.

So no, he was _not_ falling in love with Camellia like James suspected, because he knew the risks and they were ones he wasn't willing to take. Yet the thought continued to turn over in his head throughout the summer, and James smirked at him every time he thought about it around the other boy. It was almost like James _knew_ when he was thinking about it.

It wasn't until the last day before he left for his last year of Hogwarts that Remus felt any kind of relief. He and his friends had agreed that the most they could do was talk Camellia and try to convince her to go to Professor Dumbledore for help. They couldn't for her to do anything, and they all agreed she'd had enough of being forced to do things to last a lifetime.

But it wasn't that which ended up giving him relief. It was a letter that looked like it was from Max, but had more practiced and elegant handwriting on the inside.

 _Remus,_

 _I'd like to apologize first and foremost for not writing at all this summer. I trust Max told you the circumstances when he_ snuck _out of the house even though I told him not to. I appreciate you and Lily Evans sending him back and calming him down. He's been standing up to Vaughn in the smallest of ways since that day, and it's the most delightful thing I've seen since this summer began._

 _I'd like to be able to tell you that I handled this summer beautifully and did everything you would do, but we both know that's not the case. This summer was hell, and for a long time I couldn't remember whether or not you were real, and if our friendship was something I made up in my head. Quite frankly it seemed too good to be true, especially after everything that's happened._

 _This can't be long, as Vaughn is still looking through everything I receive and send, so Max is literally standing behind me and waiting to sneak it away. If I was wrong this summer and I somehow did become from friends with you this past year, like I hope I did, then please meet me on the train to Hogwarts. If not, then I sound like a complete and total idiot right now and I'd appreciate it if you never mentioned this letter to anyone. Hopefully I'll see you soon._

 _Yours,_

 _Camellia Gisele Norewood_

Their friendship, he knew, would never be false as long as he had a say in things. Because of those weird feelings that James was calling love and Remus was calling _anything_ else. A strong friendship was his best description, and that was what he would call in until someone convinced him otherwise. That was why, on the morning of September first, he stood waiting outside his compartment on the train so he could find her.


	17. Chapter 17

A year ago, she'd been angry. Vaughn had told her the morning of September first that he was joining Voldemort, and she'd been so mad she hadn't ever wanted to speak to him again. But at least then she'd been angry. Now, after a summer of being controlled and almost always having no free time, she quite simply felt nervous and scared. Nervous because what if Remus found out everything she'd been made to do over the course of the summer and he hated her for it? Scared, because what if it happened again?

A year ago, Camellia had sat angrily at the table, glaring at Vaughn every now and then while Max sat in silence and stared between the two, wondering what would happen to his family. She'd thrown on comfortable clothes to irritate her brother, and had gone to sit with Regulus and Severus on the train. But on the morning of September first, on her first day of her seventh year, Camellia Norewood had sat at a tense table, avoiding eye contact with Vaughn at all costs. She'd gone and dressed carefully, looking more feminine than she usually did, with her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders. There was a chance that she was dressing nicely for Remus, in case he did want to meet up with her.

It was odd, she knew, but when Remus was involved she didn't feel nearly as scared. Perhaps she simply didn't have enough fear left to be afraid of him, or maybe she knew that he wouldn't really hurt her. At least not in the way that Vaughn and his friends had. She was sure Max felt similarly, because he went to Remus for everything.

"Are you ready Miss?"

The frail voice of Mina made Camellia blink and turn around to see the small creature holding her trunk. "I-" She didn't want to go back, because then she would just be obsessing over the return date. At least if she was at home she would know that bad things were around the corner. There would be no waiting, and no anticipation, and she wouldn't be lured into a false sense of security. "Of course, Mina, thank you,"

The house elf disappeared with the trunk, and Camellia sighed and walked to the front door. Max looked incredibly uncomfortable standing next to Vaughn, who looked irritated and tired. "We're leaving now; I have other things to do today,"

It was only half past ten, but neither Camellia nor Max had a problem with getting away from Vaughn earlier than planned. In the blink of an eye they were standing on the platform with the few others who had already showed up. Vaughn left them with a small 'pop' and Max let out a long sigh that Camellia hadn't realized he'd been holding back. "We're free," he whispered, smiling. "We don't have to go back, right? Can't we stay at Hogwarts for Christmas? And then I can go live with you, right? You'll get a new house once you're done with school, right?"

"I'll-I'll do my best, Max. I swear to you I will do my best,"

He nodded and smiled at her, which made Camellia's lips pull up as well. Perhaps there was a way for them to make things work. Maybe they'd- "Max!"

Her younger brother seemed to be confused by the shout, and he turned around only to be tackled by a girl dresses almost exclusively in Hufflepuff colors. "Cassandra!" he exclaimed, throwing his arms around her to return her hug. "How was your-"

"You would know if you responded to my letters," she said, a hint of anger in her voice. But then she was smiling again, and hugging Max for the second time. "We all missed you. Please, will you sit on the train with us?"

Max looked to Camellia for a moment and she nodded immediately. "Have fun you two," she said, giving Max a tiny shove toward the train.

"Will you-"

"I'll be fine, Max, now go,"

He smiled at her one last time before grabbing his friend's hand and dragging her to the train.

Camellia remained in place, watching people arrive as it got closer to eleven, and run off to meet their friends. And in that moment, she'd never felt more alone.

Until someone tapped her shoulder, making her jump and turn around. She was met with the blinding sight of Lily Evans' bright smile, and her eyebrows raised immediately. "Is there something you need?"

"You're alone,"

Camellia frowned. "So I've noticed," she said coolly. "What did you want, Evans?"

The redhead didn't even seem phased by the cold tone of her voice. "I assume you're going to find Remus, right?"

"I-" she faltered, and frowned again. "I was going to try, yes, but-"

"I'll help you find him," Lily said, her bright smile never once leaving her face. "It shouldn't be too hard; those boys always sit in the same compartment,"

Before Camellia could protest Lily had grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the train, flicking her wand and making both of their trunks float along behind them. "He might not want to see me, I don't actually know-"

Lily laughed at her feeble protest and shook her head. "He's been dying to see you all summer. _Believe_ me; I've had to hear about it almost every day," She paused for a moment, before adding, "You're really lucky, you know. Remus doesn't let a lot of people in, and he hardly ever gets close to people outside of Gryffindor. You're the exception. He really likes you,"

Camellia couldn't stop the heat rushing to her face, and she smiled slightly. Last year _had_ happened then. "He's very kind," she mumbled, glancing at the other girl.

Lily grinned at her before pointing to a compartment a little ways down the corridor. Camellia immediately saw Remus standing in front of the door, his head swiveling as he squinted in each direction. "He's looking for you," she stated.

"He might not-" Camellia began, but then Remus locked eyes with her and smiled, so Camellia fell silent.

He started toward her, and the closer he got the more Camellia felt at ease. "Remus," she said politely, nearly forgetting that Lily was by her side. "Did you have a nice summer?"

"It was decent," he said, holding her gaze. His eyes seemed sad, something Camellia had never truly thought about before. She began to wonder why that was, until Remus let out a quiet, "I missed you," and brought her attention back to the conversation.

"I missed you too," she said softly, finally breaking their eye contact.

"Camellia Norewood," came from behind Remus and her friend sighed heavily, before turning around and glaring at whoever was behind him.

"Not _now_ James-Sirius-"

The two boys ignored him completely and went to stand in front of Camellia, their arms folding across their chests as they wore identical frowns. But then James Potter grinned, breaking the tense moment as he stuck out a hand. "James Potter," he said. "Pleasure to properly make your acquaintance,"

"Oh-right-"

"Don't _hog_ her James," Sirius Black said, shoving James to the side and shaking her hand instead. "I believe we've met?"

"We've gone to school together for six years-"

"Ah, right! Then why have we never spoken before? I always speak to the girls who-"

" _Sirius_ ," James snapped, glancing at Remus who looked irritated.

"You _hate_ me?" she said loudly, catching the attention of the Gryffindors that were currently standing around her. "All of you, except Remus-you all hate me. Why are you-"

"Anyone as important to Remus as you are is someone we can't hate," James stated.

"Besides, we-um-we heard about what's been happening to you lately, and, well, I understand," Sirius said soberly. "If I was a Slytherin, that probably would be me too. I mean, I'd never thought about that until I was asked how different we actually are, but… yeah,"

He seemed very awkward in that moment, instead of the usual smooth way he did things. "You Gryffindors are weird," she muttered, though she still offered them smiles.

For a moment she wondered if the comment would get her in trouble with the boys, but then Sirius laughed. "Not nearly as weird as you Slytherins,"

"Please, Slytherins are about as normal as they come,"

" _Sure_ they are," he grinned, before nodding to the compartment he'd been in. "Anyway, I figure Remus will chicken out of asking-"

"He thinks we'll scare you away," James added brightly.

"So I'll take it upon myself to ask where you're sitting?"

"I was not going to-" Remus protested, but Camellia stopped listening. Where _was_ she going to sit? In the past the answer would have been with Regulus, but they hadn't had a decent conversation since their fight the previous year. And while she knew Anna and Julie would take her, no questions asked, she was too proud to admit that they were two of her three friends. At least she was too proud to admit that out loud.

"Just, um, a little ways down the train," she answered carefully.

"Who with?"

"Why do you need to know?" she asked defensively.

She was half sure he wanted to know so he could make fun of her for sitting alone, but she hoped that wasn't the case. "Because if it's some git than we're going to kidnap you-"

"Sirius!"

"And if it's someone nice we'd like to respectfully ask you to ditch them and come sit with us anyway. Keep in mind, we're very likely to kidnap you if you say no to that,"

" _Sirius no_ -" James said, attempting to place a hand over his other friend's mouth. After a moment the hand was yanked away and James Potter was cursing angrily while wiping his hand on Remus' sweater. "You bloody toad! Moony, he _licked_ me!"

Remus shoved James away and made a disgusted face. "Well don't wipe it on me!"

"Welcome to the mature world of Gryffindor," Lily Evans said, rolling her eyes. "Get back in the compartment; the train will leave any second and we need to sit down,"

Somehow Camellia was dragged into the compartment by a smug Sirius Black, and after a lot of arguing on who would sit where-and a _lot_ of complaining from Peter Pettigrew-she ended up sitting between the window and Remus. Across from them were Peter, James, and Sirius, and James was just as moody as Remus was about being stuck in the middle of two people. "I still don't understand why-"

" _Peter_ ," James sighed. "For the _last_ time we're not making the girls move. They're welcome here," Peter spent the rest of the ride silent and pouting.

Camellia on the other hand was so entertained with watching the three speaking boys poke fun at one another that she couldn't help but smile. Lily seemed to feel similarly, and quite a few times Camellia saw her staring at James-who always seemed to talk with his hands-and ending up with a smile on her face as well.

Halfway through Lily, James, and Remus all stood up frowning. "Time for your meeting, eh?" Sirius asked.

"Why they _ever_ made me Head Boy," James wondered.

"It's because everyone looks up to you," Camellia stated, choosing not to look at the boy. "Star Chaser, smart, funny, _sometimes_ even nice…" she trailed off, glancing nervously at the others.

James Potter was, for the first time, beaming at her. "I like her," he stated. "You have my blessing, Remus,"

And with the odd words that made Remus turn a divine shade of pink, James left the compartment, discreetly grabbing Lily's hand and pulling her along. Remus then turned to her, his eyes focusing on her forehead. "Will you wait here? It shouldn't be more than an hour,"

"If it's all right with your friends,"

"Well I don't mind. And Pete said he wanted to meet up with a Ravenclaw anyway, so he'll be leaving soon,"

"I guess I'll see you when you get back then,"

Until Peter left, the compartment was incredibly awkward. As soon as the chubby boy was gone though, Sirius turned to her with a nervous expression on his face. "Can we talk, for a moment?" Camellia's eyebrows raised suspiciously, but she nodded anyway. "I just thought you ought to know my brother misses you,"

It definitely wasn't what she expected to hear. "He-He does?"

Sirius nodded solemnly. "Our parents are pressuring him to join up, like your brother did. He's scared, and he doesn't know what to do, and...he misses you. He wrote me last week. I know my brother, and I know that he won't apologize for fear of seeming weak, so I was wondering if-"

"I'll talk to him. He's a stubborn prat, but I love him like family. I've missed him too,"

Sirius smiled at her, and Camellia did the same, wondering all the while if maybe they could be friends too. After all, when he wasn't trying to impress anyone he was actually nice. "Just one more thing,"

"Yes?"

"Remus likes you. I mean, he _really_ likes you. But… he's got some issues of his own and while he's been doing well lately, he's bound to have another freak out soon. Just don't take it personally okay? You two seem to be good for each other,"

"What makes you-"

"For starters, we wouldn't be sitting here right now if it wasn't for Remus. And you make him happier; it's been a while since I've seen him so happy,"

At that, they both fell silent. Right until Camellia saw James, Lily, and Remus approaching and she decided to say, "Hey Black? He makes me happy too," She'd never seen Sirius Black look at her so happily before.

She ended up sitting alone at the Slytherin table for the feast as they got to the school. Though she didn't really mind, because the seventh years were ignoring her and the others were smart enough to leave her alone. It would be one of the last times she sat at the Slytherin table. The reason being, of course, that Slytherin seemed to have split into three factions.

Many of the kids in her year had gotten Dark Marks over the summer, and they had formed a rather large group with those who admired them. On the opposite side were those who thought the act was despicable. Camellia, along with nearly every kid who went to her with their problems, had chosen that path. They'd all dispersed and gone to sit and spend time with friends in other houses. And in the middle were kids like Regulus, who were so torn on what side to choose that they chose none at all.

Of course the split didn't show well to the other houses. As against each other as they were, no Slytherin wanted the other houses to see them as weak and divided. The only members of other houses who actually knew were those who were close friends with the rebelling Slytherins.

Camellia had chosen to sit with Anna and her friends rather than Remus or Julie. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff would surely throw a fit if a Slytherin sat at their table, but the Ravenclaws didn't mind. Anna had actually been thrilled with the arrangement and had decided that they would sit by each other in every class they shared.

The only other development in her first month back at school was her reconciliation with Regulus. He'd pulled her into a broom closet one night before he'd started sobbing, throwing out apologies for what he'd done and would inevitably do. Camellia had done what she did best, and soon he'd calmed down enough to have an actual conversation with her, and tell her what was going on.

She'd urged him to go to Dumbledore, as Remus had done to her on their second night back, and she felt hypocritical for doing so. After all, she'd told Remus that would never happen, so she shouldn't have offered the same advice to her best friend. Though in the end Regulus had promised to think about it.

It wasn't until the first of October that she found a small solution to her own problems. It was a small, two-bedroom flat near Diagon Alley in London that an old witch was selling. To her surprise, Camellia had enough in her personal vault at Gringotts to afford it. She'd written the witch immediately, explaining bits and pieces of her situation. The old witch had eagerly agreed to meet her at the Three Broomsticks on their first Hogsmeade weekend. It almost felt too good to be true, a fact that made her extremely wary, but Camellia felt that at least things were finally starting to fall into place for her.

Max had been absolutely thrilled when she'd told him her plan. He'd hugged her for about five minutes and had eagerly started explaining what he would do with his room once the space was actually theirs. He didn't seem overly concerned with leaving the house they'd grown up in, which was a relief. Camellia had even been slightly nervous about doing that, though what worried her more was telling Vaughn that they were moving out, because she knew her brother would be furious. But it was worth it, she knew, because at least Max would be happy.

Remus seemed to have a similar idea, because when he'd learned her news he'd been over the moon. He hugged her, much as Max had, and hadn't stopped congratulating her the entire time they were in their usual classroom. Camellia had told him that if they did end up living in the flat, then he was welcome any time. Max would love to have him there, and she'd even quietly stated that she would want to have him over too. For the rest of the night they'd sat side by side, as Remus talked about what he wanted to do after Hogwarts and Camellia listened, trying to make a plan for her own future as well. Before she'd only had one option, but as that life was starting to not be hers anymore, she knew she would have to do something else.


	18. Chapter 18

It was the end of October when two things became apparent to Remus. As he was starting to get sick again because of the upcoming full moon, Camellia had noticed. She'd started asking if he was okay, and why he was suddenly sick again when the last time had been at the end of September. After a frantic talk with James where the other boy had convinced him not to pull away from Camellia, Remus knew he had to tell her the truth.

Especially because of the second thing he'd realized. There was a small chance that as he spent more time with her and learned more about her, he'd realized that close friends wasn't the exact term he wanted to use to describe their relationship. It was an odd thing to know, that he could actually experience those feelings. For the longest time any kind of relationship was out of the question, because he would never want to bother someone with his condition. But through James, Sirius, and Peter he'd learned the values of friendship, and then Lily and Max had joined that area of his life as well. But Camellia had always floated on the outskirts, and Remus realized that it was because he liked her, far more than a friend should.

It wasn't love-they were far too young for that anyway-but Remus still felt his fondness for the girl was very strong.

He'd freaked out at the realization, which had come in the middle of dinner as he'd seen her laughing at the Ravenclaw table, and he'd immediately run off to write a letter to his father. His mother would explain that he could do whatever he wanted, because those who cared about his condition weren't worth his time. His father, on the other hand, would be more sensible and would tell him what he should actually do.

For a short period of time, Remus hadn't spoken to his father. When he was twelve, his father had explained why Remus had been attacked at the age of five, and he'd very nearly run away to escape. But then he'd realized that it wasn't really his father's fault, and that he did love him despite the fact that Remus was a werewolf, and now Remus went to him for everything involving his condition. So when he received a letter back the next day he wasn't too surprised, at least not until he opened it.

 ** _You've been lucky so far, Remus. If this Camellia girl truly cares for you, she won't care what you are. Follow your heart for once, Remus, instead of your head._**

Still, the thought of actually telling someone made him queasy. James, Lily, Sirius, and Peter had all figured it out for themselves, as had Severus Snape, though Remus didn't really like the idea of him knowing. And Camellia had probably been raised to hate people like him, so there was a high chance she'd tell him he was a monster. The one reaction that consistently held him back was the possibility of her telling Remus to stay away from Max. In the short year they'd known each other Max had become one of his favorite Gryffindors, and Remus cared for him.

Eventually it got to be the day of the full moon in October, and Remus was feeling awful. He'd hardly gotten any sleep the previous night because he'd been worrying about many different things, and he was half sure his body was trying to 'prepare' him for the change, because he was already aching all over. So it really was no surprise that he was in a positively foul mood when he came down for breakfast, and it was only worsened by the sight of his friends watching him worriedly. Remus understood why they worried, but he hated seeing them look at him with so much pity in their eyes. He wasn't weak, he'd been doing this for over ten years, so he felt their pity was incredibly irritating.

As the day passed, Remus tried to ignore the suspicious looks that Camellia was giving him. She was smart enough to realize that something was very wrong, but luckily enough she hadn't figured it out yet. He felt that if she found out on her own she would be furious with him, though that seemed like the outcome anyway.

He was a ball of nerves as he went through his day, and he could see that his friends were getting nervous as well. It was simply the fact that he was upset that was making them that way, and that only made Remus feel worse. He was ruining his friend's day, and there wasn't anything he could do to stop. They would never blame him though. No, his friends would just offer him cheerful smiles and tell him that he was being an idiot, as they so often did.

Before he knew it, he was walking down to the hospital wing with a dreadful feeling in his stomach that refused to go away. In about an hour and a half he would turn into a monster, he had to figure out how to tell Camellia about what he was, and he was sure he would lose her as well. He felt like throwing up.

The feeling intensified when he saw who was sitting moodily in a chair, legs crossed and eyes narrowed at the door. " _Somehow_ ," Camellia Norewood said, her voice sounding quite dangerous, "I thought you'd end up in here tonight. I've been waiting,"

"What-Why would you-"

"You look like a dead man walking. Don't insult my intelligence," Her eyes were still narrowed, and he hadn't heard her voice as cold as it was in a long time. "So what is it then? Dragon Pox? You don't have that greenish tinge, but perhaps that's where your scars actually come from. I know it's not Spattergroit, as you can still speak. Scrofungulus? A cold? The flu? What is it?"

"It's _nothing_ -" he tried, but her eyes simply seemed to narrow further. Which Remus honestly hadn't thought possible.

"We're friends," she said, and Remus noticed a slight shake in her voice that clued him in to the fact that she was upset. "You're sick, and I want to help. So tell me what it is,"

"You _can't_ help," Remus snapped, rubbing his temples as a headache started up. "Just go away, Camellia, I can't deal with this right now,"

"Remus-"

"Just stop it! I don't trust you enough to tell you, so leave it alone!"

Suddenly her eyes widened, and her lips parted in surprise. "Of course," she said, nodding. "It was silly of me to assume that we were close, or that you could tell me things that were important to you, as I've done,"

"Camellia-"

"I'll see you around, Remus," she said irritably, standing and walking toward the door.

"Camellia _wait_ -"

"I have other things to do,"

"Please, just-just don't go," he said weakly, giving up on standing and sitting down on a bed. Madam Pomfrey would be out any minute to escort him to the Whomping Willow. He'd done that part of his transformation every month since he'd started at Hogwarts, and he'd never had anyone other than the nurse with him before. But having upset Camellia, he suddenly wanted to have her with him. "Just don't go," he repeated, softer.

He put his head in his hands then, unwilling to look at the door as she left. Remus knew she'd go, because she'd be silly not to, especially after he'd yelled at her. He'd really ruined _everything_ this time-There was a hand gingerly touching his shoulder. "What is it, Remus? What's happening?"

"I'm sick," he managed to say, struggling to control his breathing. He felt like hyperventilating, because it seemed like the natural thing to do once someone was about to learn his biggest secret. He had to tell her; she'd be furious if he didn't.

"You know, somehow I'd figured that out," she stated, a playful tone to her sad voice.

"Really sick,"

"I can tell,"

"You'll-You'll hate me for it," He was steadily getting quieter, and if he spoke anymore he was sure Camellia wouldn't be able to hear him. But that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, was it?

"Believe me, it would take a lot worse than whatever you're hiding to make me hate you," she said, sitting down next to him and gently taking his hand. She gave it a light squeeze and glanced at his, her eyes kind. Though perhaps they were always like that. Remus couldn't really focus on that thought though, because of the fact that she was _grabbing_ his hand. "I just want to know, so I can help you,"

Remus stayed silent for a few minutes, trying to gather the courage to let the words slip. They were simple, _I'm a werewolf_ , and then there would be no more secrets between them. Well, no huge secrets anyway. But no matter what he did, they wouldn't come. It was too much; he couldn't do it. He didn't even want to go to the Whomping Willow tonight; he just wanted to go home, where things were easier. "Mr. Lupin? Are you ready to go?"

" _Go_?" Camellia asked, turning around to look at the nurse who'd just exited her office. "Why would he go anywhere? He's _sick_ -"

"Mr. Lupin, I thought we agreed no students would accompany you?"

"She-She was here when I arrived. I asked her to stay,"

"Don't you know how dangerous it could be, for her to find out-"

"Find out _what_?" Camellia asked.

"That _I'm_ dangerous," he mumbled.

"You? _Dangerous_? Excuse me, but I'm not exactly trembling at the sight of you, Remus,"

"But you would be, if you saw what happens," he retorted, frowning at her. "You...You just don't understand. You… Do you know what tonight is?"

"I-It's the twenty-sixth of October, it's a Thursday, it's-"

"It's the full moon," he whispered, glancing at her nervously.

" _So_? What does that matter?"

"Do you remember that I was sick last month?"

"Of course I do, I-"

"It was on the full moon,"

"Remus I don't understand," she said carefully, but Remus was positive she knew where he was headed. "Remus-"

He was suddenly aware of how shocked Madam Pomfrey looked, and Remus wanted nothing more than to disappear into the shadows to get away from the wide-eyed stares of the two witches. "Mr. Lupin are you sure this is wise?" Madam Pomfrey asked, her voice filled with concern.

"No," he answered slowly, taking the chance to look at Camellia again. Her face was one of utter shock, but to his surprise he saw no disgust there.

"You don't mean to say that you're… that you're a-"

"That's exactly what I mean to say,"

That was the moment Remus saw the fear pass through her eyes, and he was sure everything between them was over. "I-I have to go," she said, standing up, unable to look at him any longer. "I-I just-" And then she was gone, running out of the hospital wing faster than he'd ever seen anyone leave before.

"Mr. Lupin-"

"Let's just go," he said harshly, ignoring the wetness of his eyes. "I just want to go and get this over with,"

Madam Pomfrey didn't say another word to him, and instead chose to lead him down to the Whomping Willow in silence.

The night turned out to be one of the worst he'd ever experienced. The actual transformation felt a thousand times more painful, and because he was always alone at that point Remus had let tears freely fall from his eyes. She was gone; she would hate him, and there wasn't a thing he could do to change her mind. She wasn't like his friends, she didn't care about him enough to look past his illness.

The wolf in him turned out to be irrationally angry, leading him to believe that maybe the monster played off his own feelings. Before his friends arrived as a stag, a dog, and a rat he'd given himself three new large scars across the chest, and he'd been howling nonstop. His friends attempted to keep him under control, and to make sure he didn't hurt himself, but they simply made him angrier and he was sure he'd cut Sirius a few times with his sharp nails.

By the time it was all over he'd been too exhausted to make it back up to the castle, and Madam Pomfrey had to levitate his unconscious body back to the hospital wing.

When he did wake, nearly five hours later, he was surrounded by his friends despite the fact that they all should have been in class. Lily was even there, looking at him worriedly. The first thing anyone said to him was, "What's wrong?" The question came from Sirius, who had a similar expression to Lily but with confusion mixed in.

His quiet, "I was wrong about her," was answer enough for them, and Peter immediately began trashing the girl Remus had grown to care so much about. But then James had gotten frustrated with Peter's petty words, and he'd silenced him with an angry look in the larger boy's direction. It was then that Remus noticed Lily was holding James' hand, and questions began popping into his mind. He hoped they were together; James absolutely adored Lily and Remus had been able to tell that Lily was starting to care for his friend as well. But that, he knew, didn't need to be discussed at the moment.

"You told her?" James asked, already knowing the answer.

"She was here, last night. She kept asking what was wrong, told me that whatever it was wouldn't make her hate me. But then she found out, and...and she ran,"

He felt like crying again, but to do so in front of his friends would probably mean the end of Camellia's happiness. If they knew exactly how much she'd upset him, they'd make her life hell and Remus wouldn't stand for that. He still cared about her, after all. "She ran?" Sirius asked, eyes going wide.

"It was the fastest I've ever seen her move,"

"But-"

"There are no buts. I told her, and she ran because she couldn't stand to be around me. I don't blame her; I wouldn't want to be around me either,"

"Remus don't say that," Lily chided, her eyes narrowing in a way that seemed too similar to Camellia's from the previous night. "I'm sure she just needs time to process the information,"

"And decide that she hates me even more? Decide that I can no longer be around Max? That's fantastic, Lily, that's really what I need her to do," he snapped, trying to ignore the hurt on her face.

"Hey, don't talk to her like that," James said quickly. "She's just trying to make you feel better, there's no reason to bite her head off,"

Remus looked down at his feet, ashamed. He knew Lily's intentions, but he still felt as awful as he had the previous night. "Can you all just go?" he asked softly.

"Remus-"

"Please just go,"

"But we-"

" _Please_ ," He was pleading now, and he didn't care how weak it made him sound. He simply wanted to be alone. He _deserved_ to be alone.

It was Lily who nodded first, gently pulling James out of his seat and then doing the same to Sirius and Peter. "We'll come check on you later, alright?" she said, her tone making it clear the matter wasn't up for discussion. "Get some more rest; you still look exhausted,"

Sleep came only moments after they left, as Madam Pomfrey had brought him a sleeping potion and instructed him to take it immediately. But with the sleep came dreams, of Camellia's expression, of how disgusted Max would be when he found out, and how they would surely tell the rest of the castle. All in all, it wasn't very pleasant.

Around dinner that night Madam Pomfrey told him he was okay to leave, but that he should take it easy and report to the great hall and then go straight to his common room. Remus had nodded, insisting that he would do just that, but had instead chosen to make his way to the empty classroom he spent so much time with Camellia in. It would never happen again, the two of them sitting side by side and discussing their limited options for the future, but it made him smile sadly as he sat on the floor underneath a window.

Not even five minutes after he'd sat down, the door to the room opened and he was staring in horror at Camellia. "I'll go-" he said immediately, not wanting to bother her with his presence.

She seemed surprised to see him there, but frantically shook her head. "No, you were here first. I should be going anyway, I have places to be-"

"I'm sorry," Remus interrupted, finding it incredibly hard to look her in the eyes. "I shouldn't have befriended you and made you deal with this. It was selfish of me, and I apologize for that. I shouldn't have gotten involved with Max either, and I promise I'll try to leave him alone. I understand why you wouldn't want me near him, and I swear I won't come near you either because I know I disgust you now, and I would never-"

" _Remus_ stop!"

"-force you to be around me-"

Her eyes had gone wide, and she seemed unsure of what to do. "Remus _I_ should be the one apologizing, not you. And what are you talking about? Max looks up to you; he'd be crushed if you stopped talking to him. You should be the one to not want to come near me, after I ran. Don't you remember what I told you last year? It takes a brave person to bear their soul to those who don't deserve to see it. I didn't deserve it yesterday, and I'd understand if _you_ no longer wanted to be friends with _me_ ," It definitely wasn't what he'd been expecting, so Remus simply stared at her with his mouth hanging open. Camellia played with her fingers nervously before continuing. "I'll admit I was afraid when you first told me. My family's never been completely against werewolves-" For some reason the word didn't sound as bad coming from her. "-but I've heard stories, and… I reacted poorly. I should have been there, or done something, but instead I ran,"

"It's not your fault,"

"Yes it is," she said quickly, frowning at him. "I just… I just needed time to think about it, and to realize a couple of things,"

"Which were…?"

"Well for starters, I had to understand that you were the same old Remus. I… I didn't know before, and I adored you then, so why should that change now? It, well, it wasn't as easy as it sounds to come to terms with the idea, but once I wrapped my head around that, it was easy to understand other things. Like how you didn't choose this, and how you were so afraid for me to know because you thought I'd hate you, when it's something you can't control,"

"But-"

"Remus, I… I'd still like to be friends with you, if you'd accept my apology for my behavior yesterday,"

He was too stunned to do anything but nod. She wanted to be friends with him, and she felt bad about making him feel otherwise. It was surreal, honestly, because he'd never thought he'd be openly accepted like this before.

Camellia seemed to let out a sigh of relief that Remus hadn't realized she'd been holding, and she carefully sat down next to him. "I can't promise I won't act weird about it sometimes. At least while I'm getting used to the idea that one of my best friends is a werewolf,"

"Monster," he corrected softly.

"Werewolf," she argued, her eyes narrowing as she looked at him. But then her face softened, and she shook her head. "You're not a monster, Remus, and you never will be. You're too good,"

"But I'm-"

"When were you bit?"

"When I was five, but-"

"Then how on earth are _you_ the monster? The real monster is whoever did this to a child,"

"But I-I understand why-"

"There's never an excuse for hurting a child. I… I realize whoever it was may not have been in their normal state of mind, but you would think they'd take precautions so no one would get hurt,"

Remus nodded slightly, deciding the save the real story of how he'd become a werewolf for another day. She seemed like she would blame his father, as he'd done so many years ago, and Remus didn't want her thinking ill of him.

Silence fell between the two teenagers, and after a while Camellia leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder. "Hey Remus?"

"Yeah?"

"You know how dogs apparently descended from wolves?"

"I-Yes?"

"You don't ever...you know, get any canine tendencies do you?"

"What?"

She smirked at him, and Remus became aware that she was trying to joke with him, probably to try and improve both of their moods. "Like fleas, or the urge to, well, play with balls that squeak and-"

He laughed before she could finish the sentence, and was pleased when she laughed as well. "No, definitely none of that. I just get sick around the full moon,"

"Well that seems much worse than having fleas," she muttered, still smiling. "I'll try and adjust to the idea, okay? Just please give me some time?"

There was no way he would say no and end the friendship; he cared about her too much and was far too selfish to do that. "You can have all the time in the world," he responded, smiling nervously as Camellia nodded and placed her head back on his shoulder.

"That's awfully kind of someone who says they're selfish," she stated, shaking her head.

For about an hour they stayed like that, Camellia asking all sorts of questions about his condition that ranged from serious to outright ridiculous. But Remus didn't mind, because maybe he'd managed to keep her as a friend after all.


	19. Chapter 19

Camellia straightened her blouse once more, hoping that she looked responsible enough for the older witch she was meeting. The woman had wanted to meet up with her in the Three Broomsticks to talk about the flat she was selling. But their first Hogsmeade visit hadn't been until mid November, and Camellia had been worried the woman wouldn't want to wait that long. The older witch had been extremely kind in her letter though, and told Camellia she was the only one interested anyway, so waiting would be fine.

She'd worn a pretty blue shirt Anna told her brought out her eyes and a skirt, and she hoped the other witch wouldn't be offended by her lack of robes. Every nice one she had was at home, and there was no way she'd wear her Slytherin ones, so she'd gone for the next best thing. Anna, who'd insisted on helping her get ready for the day, thought she looked nice. Her exact words were more along the lines of, "If that old witch doesn't like it, at least we know Remus Lupin will." Camellia had gone red and repeatedly said that there was no reason for him to notice what she was wearing. Anna had only laughed.

But then Camellia had started to think about her friend, and she couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He'd been attacked and nearly killed at the age of five, and he spent every day ashamed of himself. Of course her reaction hadn't helped matters, because she'd run off like a coward. She just hadn't known how to react, because how was one supposed to react upon learning their close friend was a werewolf? She hadn't slept well that night, wondering what was happening to Remus and trying to decide what to do. There had only ever been one option, because she cared about him too much to simply walk away, but for a while she'd been afraid. And then furious with herself for being afraid, because he was just Remus-he was _still_ Remus, and that shouldn't have changed because she'd learned his secret.

They spent almost every evening together, now. When Remus had prefect duties Camellia spent time with Regulus, and in the afternoons when Remus was with his other friends or Max, Camellia would seek out Julie or Anna and strengthen those friendships. It was actually quite nice, because she'd never felt she had so many real friends before. After dinner was usually when she got to be with Remus, and they often split their time between their classroom and their table in the library. At times they'd just work on homework or simply sit in silence, but most of the time they'd talk. About Remus' condition as she attempted to understand more about him. Or Remus would ask about her family and her summer, as he tried to understand why she was the way she was.

They were actually planning on meeting up after her meeting with the older witch, which Camellia was excited for. The last time they'd planned to go to Hogsmeade together Vaughn had ruined it, but so far he hadn't even written her this year. It was kind of nice, but at the same time it was making her paranoid. He'd always wanted some amount of control over her, but now he was completely leaving her alone, and it just didn't feel right. Then again, she was practically getting to live for herself, so she couldn't complain too much.

She met Remus near the great hall, waiting with the rest of the students for the doors to be opened so she'd be set free for the day. Remus had immediately removed his jacket upon seeing Camellia had forgotten her own, which she found unnecessary yet sweet. He'd wrapped a Gryffindor scarf tightly around his throat and chin and shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. Camellia had tried to return the jacket to the boy, but he'd insisted that because he was wearing a sweater he would be okay.

James Potter was smirking at them throughout the entire exchange, as he'd walked down with Remus. Camellia didn't really understand why, but Remus was glaring at the other boy. Lily came up then, rolling her eyes at her housemates and waving at Camellia before dragging James away and slipping her hand into his own. "Are they together or something?" Camellia asked.

"There's no official statement yet," Remus said, smiling fondly after his friends despite just being irritated with James. "But I hope so. James has been in love with her for years,"

"Then I hope so too," she stated. "He seems nice enough, and I've always thought Lily Evans was very kind. I hope they both end up happy,"

Remus grinned at her and nodded happily as they shuffled out into the biting cold. He shivered slightly but offered her an encouraging smile to combat her worried look. "Perhaps we'll get to see that happen, if we remain friends,"

"Oh please. _If_ ," she scoffed. "Why would I ever want to stop being friends with someone who offers me their jacket?"

It seemed the Gryffindor couldn't stop smiling at her, and Camellia felt her heart swell with pride. She made him smile, she'd started to notice, almost more than his other friends did.

She liked Remus, more than she'd thought possible when their friendship began. He was kind, and smart, and he truly cared about his friends and the people around him. Camellia felt honored to be in that group, because in truth he was very selective of who he let into his life. And he'd picked _her_. He wanted her around, for no reason other than the fact that he liked her. He thought she was interesting, and he _saw_ her. It seemed that almost every time she was upset he knew, and he found her and made her feel better. If she didn't already know that her future was pretty much decided for her, and romantic relationships were out of the question, she might fall for him. But it was an odd thought, to be able to have that option, and it made her slightly uncomfortable to think about.

"Are you okay? You've gone silent, you know,"

"What? Oh, I was just thinking,"

"About?"

"You," she answered without thinking, though as soon as she realized what she'd said she turned a bright shade of pink and looked down. Her eyes widened as she waited for him to start laughing at her, but the laughter never came.

"Funny, I was just thinking about you last night," he said, watching her with a kind expression. "And how you seem to always be around when I need you the most. I quite like being your friend, Camellia,"

They spent the rest of the walk to the Three Broomsticks in silence, each of them grinning and watching their feet, Camellia's arm linked with Remus' in a polite manner. He walked her into the pub and left with a wave and a promise to meet her at Honeydukes in about an hour.

For a few minutes she stood alone near the door, but a finger soon tapped her shoulder and she turned around in surprise. "Are you Miss Norewood?" The voice sounded oddly familiar, but Camellia couldn't place where she knew it.

The woman standing before her was a head shorter, and her graying hair was long and frizzy. She looked as if she hadn't been in the sun in about a decade, and her brown eyes had a misty quality to them that made Camellia not want to look at her. "Mrs. Thompson? It's lovely to meet you; please, call me Camellia,"

"That's nice dear. Shall we sit and talk about the flat?" Camellia nodded immediately and led the older witch to an empty table. As she listened to the description of the flat and the nearby parks and sites, Camellia was once again struck by the idea that it was too good to be true. But she had hope, and she wasn't able to stop her interest in the small flat. "Well dear, it's nearly time for me to get back to my daughter's house, though I do have one more question for you,"

"Yes?" Camellia asked eagerly, offering the woman a bright smile.

"How would you and your brother like to stay at the flat when you go on holiday? You seem interested, but you could test it out, and know for sure,"

"That-That would be amazing! Max would love that, and I'd pay you of course,"

"I'll send you a key then dear. Just look for my owl!"

Camellia nodded and shook the woman's hand, waving as she left the pub. She quickly paid for their drinks and then hurried out herself and walked into Honeydukes. She found Remus staring at a row of chocolate frogs, and she was half sure he was trying to pick out one with a card he didn't already have. "I would go with this one," she said, reaching past him and grabbing a random candy. "I'll bet it's Merlin,"

"Well hello," he said, glancing at her with a large smile. "How did your meeting go with that Mrs. Thompson woman?"

"Wonderfully. She's offered to let Max and I stay there over the holidays so we can see if we'd really like to buy it. I think we'll have to get a tree, because Max loves to decorate, and perhaps you could come over to help? I'm told I make good ginger biscuits, and I-"

"Helping you two decorate would be nice," Remus said. "I'm sure I can make it over as long as you tell me where,"

"Remind me to give you the address then. It will be lovely to see you over the holiday instead of waiting until we come back to school. And Max will be glad to see you as well,"

Much of the rest of her day was spent wandering around Hogsmeade with Remus, picking out different things for Max that they agreed he would like. It was all good fun, until Remus realized he would be late for his prefect duties and had to run off. Camellia didn't mind; she simply went to another shop and picked out a few nice quills for herself, and even got a nice one for Remus because she wanted to get him something he'd like. She hoped he would actually like it, though knowing Remus he would probably just appreciate getting a small gift.

That night she spent time with Regulus, who'd found her walking back to Hogwarts, and had stated that he missed her. They'd gotten dinner in the kitchens and gotten back before many of the other Slytherins, so they ended up on the sofa by the fire. They both decided to finish their homework for the weekend, which actually got done fairly quickly. They spent a lot of time joking with each other, and irritating every other Slytherin that walked into the common room and heard their loud laughter.

As more time went by, Camellia found that less of her time was spent in carefree moments like these, and more was spent with her head buried in a textbook and her hand furiously taking notes on whatever it was she was struggling to understand. She wouldn't have minded so much, had the N.E.W.T.S not been months away. The professors seemed insistent on them doing as much work as possible, and Camellia was struggling not to fall behind. She was smart, yes, but Anna was smarter than her and even _she_ was having trouble. Remus was attempting to help her and his other friends, but he tended to use big words that she didn't understand. And Camellia was far too proud to admit that she just didn't get it.

She received a note after lunch one day, and for a moment she panicked, wondering if it was about kicking her out because her marks in classes were dropping. But as soon as she opened it, she realized that it was a summon to Professor Slughorn's office after her last class of the day. There was no explanation as to why, and that mixed with the head of Slytherin wanting to meet with her made Camellia nervous. She attempted to focus for the rest of the day, but that seemed to be completely out of the question.

Instead, she tried to figure out exactly what it was Professor Slughorn would want with her, because he'd never seemed particularly interested in her before. Perhaps he would try to convince her to go back to only really speaking to the Slytherins, though personally she thought he'd be under the Imperius curse if he did that. Slughorn had never really seemed prejudiced against houses or blood status before. The main exception was that he seemed to strongly dislike Anna, but the Ravenclaw was often caught talking during his class.

When she got to his rather small office, she was immediately ushered into the room, and she hardly had time to wonder how he knew she'd been there. "Good afternoon, Professor," she said, watching him nervously as she sat down across from him at his desk.

"Miss Norewood," he said pleasantly, smiling at her. "I'm sure you're wondering why I've summoned you here today,"

"Yes, Professor, I-"

"Do you remember," he interrupted, still smiling, "the conversation we had in your fifth year? You couldn't decide what it was you wanted to do as a future career. Seeing as it's been two years I thought you might have an idea and want some form of guidance,"

She was so caught off guard by the question that for a moment she simply stared at him. "I-I suppose I haven't given it much thought, Professor," she said shakily. "I-I've never really had the _option_ to decide before,"

The head of Slytherin frowned, making Camellia shift uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, what here interests you?"

"History of Magic," she said immediately, pausing before adding, "And Potions, sir, it's good as well,"

He smiled kindly at her, seeming entertained by her response. "Perhaps you'd enjoy working in one of those fields then. You're one of my only students with an 'O' in History of Magic. It's not a particularly sought after position, but the Ministry is always looking for magical historians. And with our world in its current state, new history books will have to be written-"

"You think I should write history textbooks? But who on earth would ever buy those?"

"He may not express things well-or at all, honestly-but Professor Binns seems to adore you. The few times I've had a conversation with the old chap he goes on and on about my Slytherin, and how my Slytherin girl is the best in his class. You're the only Slytherin girl even passing History of Magic. I'm sure he'd look into getting some new books if you wrote them,"

"He hasn't changed books in years!"

"He hasn't believed in anyone in years either, Miss Norewood," Slughorn stated gently, "Not like he believes in you. Now, if that's the career you'd like to go after I would recommend studying harder in all of your classes. Not because you'll truly need them, but because it looks better if you've received high marks in all of your classes. Your seventh year is hard, Miss Norewood, but I know you can manage to pull at least E's in each subject,"

Camellia stared at the jolly man; she'd slipped into getting A's because she wasn't performing well enough, and how he expected her to get back up to her regular marks was beyond her. It would mean admitting to Remus, and probably the other professors, that she needed more help and there was no way that was going to happen.

"Now, you should hurry along to dinner, before you're late. I'm sure your housemates will miss you if you're not there!"

"Oh-Of course Professor. Um, thank you," she said, nodding politely as he led her out of his office.

She knew that there was a bewildered expression on her face as she walked up to the great hall, but no matter what she tried to direct her thoughts to she couldn't get rid of it. Regulus asked what was wrong as she sat by him-apparently an earlier dinner was what everyone wanted, as it was just nearing five and half the great hall was full-but she just shook her head and he went back to eating his meal.

The idea was completely crazy, but to say that she wasn't interested in it would be a lie. It would set her up for failure, because _surely_ there was no way she could successfully write a history textbook. Camellia didn't think she was that good at writing anyway, though Professor Binns did always give her perfect marks on her essays. But it couldn't be possible, and she refused to put herself out there and attempt to do something she knew she could never succeed at. She'd stick to what she knew-but that was all changing, she realized, which made her frown in disgust. As much as she loved that her life was becoming her own, the change still terrified her.

Maybe she'd decide to simply work in a shop in Diagon Alley. Camellia would have to be careful with how she spent her money, but she would make enough to get by. With that in mind, she stopped thinking about the odd job Professor Slughorn seemed to think she'd excel at, and focused her attention on eating and talking to Regulus. He'd had quite the day of his own, and proudly boasted about how he'd shown up a Gryffindor boy on an exam in Defense.

That night she met Remus in their classroom. He'd arrived first and was sitting against the wall with a book open on his lap, a small smile on his face, and his light brown hair falling into his eyes. It was getting a tad long, and Camellia was struck by the thought that he should probably cut it, lest it distract from his eyes. She'd found, after studying with him so many times over the last few weeks, that his eyes were her favorite part of his face. They showed everything he felt, something her own eyes never did, and at times she just wanted to watch them to understand him better.

Camellia shook her head quickly, horrified at her thoughts, and she cleared her throat. Remus looked up expectantly, smiling widely when he saw her. "You're early," he stated stated simply, rising from the floor so he was taller than she was.

"Says the boy who's probably been here for an hour," Camellia retorted, smiling back at him.

"Twenty minutes, tops," he challenged. "I'd only just started this book and-" He looked down at the third of the book he'd finished, his cheeks going faintly pink for a second before turning back to a normal color. "Well excuse me for hoping you'd come early so I could see you more,"

Camellia laughed and rolled her eyes, walking toward the boy and taking his hand to pull him back to the floor. She preferred sitting there anyway, and was glad Remus had picked the spot under the window, because then she could feel the light breeze drifting into the room. "If that's your way of telling me you missed me, it's very sweet of you to say, Remus,"

"Shut up," he muttered, knocking his shoulder against hers lightly. For a few moments they sat in comfortable silence, before he said, "What was wrong at dinner tonight?"

"Excuse me?"

"You just looked very confused. I was wondering what had happened?"

"You were _watching_ me?" she asked cheekily, watching him turn pink again.

"I was _not_ -"

"Too late, Remus, you already admitted it," she said, watching him throw a glare in her direction that both of them knew wasn't out of anger but more of irritation.

" _Anyway_ , what was wrong?"

"I'd just had a meeting with Professor Slughorn, if you must know, and he'd suggested something I find completely out of the question,"

"Which was?"

"He thinks that as a career, I should write history books," Camellia let out a nervous laugh and glanced at Remus, wondering if he would find the idea as ridiculous as she did. But the boy was grinning and nodding, which made her shift awkwardly.

"Camellia you'd be wonderful at that," he stated. "It's perfect, actually, because you love History of Magic, and-"

"But I'd never be successful at it-"

"Success is determined by you, Camellia, not by anyone else. But if you're so caught up in the idea of someone telling you you'd be fantastic at it, then I'll tell you. You'd be amazing at it, Camellia, and you'd be the most successful person in the world to me, if you were happy doing it,"

It was her turn to have cheeks that went pink, and she wished that she could make the color disappear as she stared at him. "But-But who would ever buy-"

"I would," he stated. "You could probably make me love history with those books,"

The conversation turned to other topics soon after the statement, but as Camellia walked back to the Slytherin common room that night, she couldn't help but think about what the Gryffindor had said. After all, if Remus thought she could do it then she probably could, couldn't she?


	20. Chapter 20

Remus was having a love-hate relationship with the holidays. He was excited to go home, honestly, because it would be great to see his parents and spend Christmas with them, and he was looking forward to seeing Camellia and Max as well. But then there was the matter of Christmas itself, and what fell on that day. He wasn't looking forward to transforming that night, but hopefully it wouldn't be too bad. Remus knew his wish wouldn't be granted, but he refused to let hope fall from his mind. Somehow, it would get better, or easier, and while it probably wouldn't get better for the next few years, but someday someone would come up with something.

He could tell that Camellia was getting excited the closer they got to the holidays though, and Remus was truly happy for her and Max. They were going to have a nice, relaxed holiday for the first time in probably a while. And they'd be happy together. And what really made Remus happy was the fact that they wanted him around to share in some of their happiness.

All of the excitement, however, was not enough to keep him from being upset about Julie Andrews got sick at the last minute before their patrol, and couldn't get anyone to switch with her. Remus knew he should be concerned for the Hufflepuff, but it wasn't the first time he'd been stuck on patrol by himself, and he absolutely despised it.

Every now and then he muttered a swear word, wishing he could get Camellia to come walk the castle with him. At least she would provide entertainment, and there was a chance she wouldn't mind because of how close they'd grown. Then again, she probably wouldn't do it because she spent a lot of her time studying now, when she wasn't spending time with him. He knew, without her saying the exact words, that she was struggling in a few of her classes and while he tried to help her, she would never tell him she didn't understand. She was so good at hiding things too that he had no idea what it was she was missing. The only reason he knew she wasn't getting it was because he'd seen some of the marks she'd gotten on her essays. They were falling, and her pride was getting in the way of her getting help.

Remus nearly jumped as a crash from a broom cupboard a few feet away sounded through the empty corridor. He'd been so caught up in thinking about, in his opinion, the best Slytherin, that the sound had startled him enough to make him stop and stare ahead. Without truly thinking of the consequences of opening the door, as he was sure someone had just shut a cat in the small area, he yanked it open and let out a noise he was quite ashamed of.

"Moony-"

"Remus it's not what it looks like-"

Remus stared at James and Lily in horror, watching Lily fix her hair nervously and James straighten his glasses. "Oh _really_?" Remus asked, trying to recover from the sight of his two friends kissing in what was obviously a polite manner. Remus hadn't looked too closely. It was obvious that was all they were doing, well that and James was probably giggling like an idiot as well, but it was still awkward to walk in on. "Because it looks to me like-"

" _Remus_ -"

"Nothing else was going to-"

" _Sure_ -"

"Remus!" Lily protested, punching his arm. "It-It's nothing-"

"Oh that was _not_ nothing," James said immediately. "Remus will figure it out, Lily, _please_ can I tell him?"

Remus rolled his eyes; they all knew it was going to happen eventually, and he almost felt offended that Lily hadn't wanted them all to know. It was really only Sirius who would tease them mercilessly; Peter would be more uncomfortable with the idea of James and Lily dating, and Remus was already happy for them. Despite the embarrassment on their faces Remus could tell that they were smiling and happy.

Lily was glaring angrily at James, and she glanced at Remus as if she was hoping he wouldn't understand what was happening between her and James. "So you two are together now?" he asked, watching Lily's face get impossibly redder.

"There's a possibility that James and I may have reached an agreement on what we mean to each other and we-"

"That means yes, in Lily's horrible way of putting it," James said brightly, beaming at the redhead and kissing her cheek as she rolled her eyes at him.

"When?" Remus asked simply, aware that his tone was far happier than either of the expected, because of the surprised looks on their faces.

"A couple of weeks," James answered, his face still happier than Remus had ever seen it before. "Since that Hogsmeade visit you went on with Norewood,"

"Which is really," Lily interrupted, a mischievous look in her eyes, "What we should be talking about here. James mentioned that you think you have-"

Remus' happiness quickly disappeared as he glared at his friend. "You _promised_ not to tell anyone about that!" he protested weakly.

"He didn't really have to, Remus. I can see it, clear as day,"

"And yet you couldn't see that you had feelings for James for years-"

"Remus don't get defensive," James said quickly. "We just-"

"I can't have anybody knowing, okay? First of all it will freak her out, and secondly _nothing_ will happen, and it will disappear soon enough, I just-"

"Remus you don't have to feel bad about this, you know that right?"

"I-"

"You're allowed to have those kinds of relationships," Lily said gently, reaching out and patting his arm.

"Yeah, mate, just you have that furry little problem doesn't mean you can't be happy. And you never know; Camellia Norewood had never really talked to a Gryffindor before you. And you'd never really talked to a Slytherin either. You two are changing each other and I'd be surprised if she didn't reciprocate the feelings. Don't just-"

"Just go back to kissing, will you? And don't talk about things you don't know,"

Remus walked quickly through the corridors to get away from them, and he was very glad they didn't follow him like they normally would have. The rest of his patrol was spent walking nervously through the corridors, and he was too busy thinking about being irritated with James and Lily to even try to pay attention to what other kids in the corridors were doing.

He was quiet and moody for the rest of night, which Sirius, James, and Peter all took notice of. Sirius seemed fairly upset too, and Remus would guess it was because James hadn't told him right away about being with Lily. Of course they were all happy for James, and Lily as well, but Sirius would have wanted to know as soon as it happened. After a few minutes of arguing about it, James had pointed a finger at Remus, saying, "If you want to talk about keeping secrets so badly, why don't you ask _him_ what he's hiding?"

Needless to say, James had spent the rest of the night apologizing to Remus, and Remus had spent the rest of the night insisting, " _No_ , Sirius, I'm _not_ hiding anything,"

The tension was gone by the next morning, and was instead replaced by constant teasing. Sirius and James had obviously stayed up talking after he and Peter fell asleep, something they did often, and Sirius was now in complete support of his relationship with Lily. Sirius seemed to know the developing feelings Remus had for Camellia, which was irritating because there were constant jokes about it. Never around Camellia though, because Sirius had enough sense not to let her in on the information.

As they neared their last day before the holiday, James, Sirius, and Peter seemed oddly excited, especially for how upset they'd been after Remus had told them he had plans so he couldn't actually meet with them on their agreed gift-exchanging day. Sirius was furious when he found out that Remus had made plans with Camellia instead, and had glared at her for an entire day. Until she'd marched up to him and demanded he either stop looking at her like she'd killed his puppy or explain to her what she'd done.

James had started laughing as she gave her speech, and Remus knew he wanted to explain that Sirius was jealous of her. But Remus had sent a quick silencing spell at the messy-haired boy, who then spent the rest of the time Camellia was around glaring at Remus. He just wanted to keep the peace between James and Sirius; they were incredibly close but when they were at odds it was never fun for anyone.

The last class Remus and his friends had the day before they were leaving for home was Potions, and hardly anyone was paying attention. Lily was easily making a potion with her partner while talking to James, who couldn't focus and talk to her at the same time. Sirius was stuck making their potion, though he had some talent in the area as well so he could pay a bit of attention and still hold a conversation with Peter. Peter wasn't actually that good at brewing potions, but they'd all helped him study so he'd get into the N.E.W.T. level class. Remus was carefully brewing the potion he was supposed to be making with Peter, but he didn't mind not having his help. It was more help to not have him actually, when it came to brewing potions.

On occasion, when the potion was simmering, Remus would turn around and start talking to Camellia and her partner, a Ravenclaw named Anna. He'd never noticed how often the two spent time together, but for the last few days he'd noticed them walking to class together and laughing, talking happily. Anna seemed to stare at Camellia the same way James tended to stare at him whenever Camellia was brought up. Camellia tended to roll her eyes at her friend and push her shoulder whenever she said something Camellia thought was silly.

Severus Snape had pretty much spent the entire class glaring at Lily and James, or at Camellia which Remus didn't truly understand. Camellia seemed to notice and would often throw either indifferent or irritated looks back in his direction. Remus wasn't sure if they were friends or not, as he knew they partnered together in some classes but they'd never seemed particularly happy about it.

Apparently Anna the Ravenclaw had noticed too, because she caught him in the middle of one glare, and immediately said, "Snape I _swear_ if you look over here one more time-"

"You can't do anything, you-"

"I would watch what you say, Severus," Camellia instructed, her tone angry but her face calm. "You wouldn't want to do something to irritate _him_ , would you?" she asked, making the Slytherin boy's face turn red. He glared at her again before turning away from them, angrily whispering to the boy next to him.

"I can't believe you just said that to him," Anna said, though she didn't seem upset. "He'll never let you forget that, and you've already told me the boys are trying to-"

" _Anna_ -"

Remus stared at her then, an eyebrow raised in curiosity. "What are the Slytherin boys trying to do?" he asked, watching Camellia throw another glare at Anna.

"What part of secret do you not understand?" Camellia asked angrily, her friend rolling her eyes at the angry question.

"You don't have to be ashamed of telling your-"

" _Anna_!"

"-wonderful friend Remus. I'm sure he'll want to know all about those mean boys you so love to complain about,"

"I don't complain!"

"Oh please," Anna said, rolling her eyes and smiling at Remus. "You agree with me right? She complains about everything having to do with those boys,"

"Well they're not exactly the best," Remus said as Camellia stirred her potion with a frown on her face. "Maybe she complains about them a bit-"

"Remus you're supposed to be _my_ friend! You're not supposed to agree with her!"

"Well if she's right-"

"Don't be a traitor, Remus,"

"It's alright, you can come over to my side," Anna said happily. "I'm far friendlier than she is, I'm sure I'll be just as fun. Except for the tiny problem that I won't fall-"

" _I will never forgive you_ -"

"On my face while trying to get the friendship started. Like I assume Cam did? Sometimes she's clumsy,"

"Anna you're insufferable," Camellia said, smiling at her friend.

"And that's why you love me,"

"Tolerate,"

" _Adore_ ,"

"Adore," Camellia agreed after a second of thinking.

"Took you long enough to figure out," Anna said teasingly, beaming at Camellia. "And you thought you needed this boy-"

"I never said I liked you more than I liked him," Camellia said, teasing her friend in a similar way to what her friend was doing to her. The words excited Remus for a moment, but he managed to control the excitement from reaching his face and he just smiled at her instead. Camellia sent him a smile as well before turning back to her potion and continuing to stir. They didn't speak again during that lesson, because Professor Slughorn had finally decided to crack down on people who were talking and Camellia had gone to a stony silence, even with Anna the Ravenclaw.

The next time Remus got to actually sit down and talk to her was on the train home, as the previous night they'd both been dragged away by their friends to spend one last night with them. Upon being literally dragged away from Camellia, she'd offered him a smile while her shoulders shook with laughter. He'd turned around to glance at her one last time only to see her being dragged off by Anna and a few other Ravenclaws. Remus had sought her out the next morning, as they all waited on the platform at Hogsmeade, and asked if she'd sit with him. Max had been next to her, gripping her hand tightly as he bounced on the balls of his feet with excitement. He was babbling about how, once they bought the flat in the summer, he would decorate his room, and Camellia was smiling and telling him that she was sure it would look amazing.

It was the first time Remus hadn't sat exclusively with his friends on the train. Sitting with Camellia and Max was very entertaining, as they seemed in such high spirits that joking with each other was the only thing they wanted to do. Max continuously poked fun at her inability to fly a broom, while Camellia commented on his hair, and how it was far too long and would need cut it soon. Max made faces at her, and would look at Remus in disgust at the thought of cutting his hair. His argument was that he'd never been allowed to grow it out before, and he wanted to try it. Camellia had narrowed her eyes at him before asking whether or not a Hufflepuff named Cassandra thought it was handsome. Max's face had gone red almost immediately, but he'd nodded and Camellia had started laughing.

Not long after that incident a second year with light blonde hair poked her head into their compartment, and smiled brightly at Max. "Max I was wondering if you wanted to come sit with us? We can't meet up over the holiday and we'll all miss you if you don't!"

Max had gone with a quick shout of goodbye, and soon enough Camellia was laughing again. "He likes her," she stated, seeing Remus' confusion. "He thinks she's pretty; he told me that a couple of weeks ago. It's cute,"

"So you think in the future…"

"There's no doubt in my mind. They're nearly inseparable, I've noticed. Unless Max is with me, he's with her. They'll be the best of friends, if not more,"

She smiled fondly at the thought, and Remus found himself smiling as well. "That will be nice to see," he said, nodding along.

"That it will. Having a friend like her, as I suspect she's amazing to him, will be good. He's always wanted friends but we never got out much when we were younger so it was always just us. And Vaughn on occasion, before this whole thing started. He wasn't always bad, Remus, you should understand that. He used to be kind, and he loved us. I swear at one point in time he was the best older brother in the world. But then he went to Hogwarts, and he met people who weren't good for him. And he changed,"

"You could tell me about him, if you wanted," Remus said, struggling to keep his dislike for the eldest Norewood out of his mind. "Maybe it would help, remembering him as he used to be,"

She looked sad, for a moment, and then she shook her head. "I'd rather not. Talking about Vaughn like that will make me miss him, and I'd rather not do that because then I'll try to forgive him. He doesn't deserve that anymore. But thank you for offering,"

They slipped into easy conversation after that, mostly revolving around their plans for the day Remus was coming over to help decorate the flat. She'd somehow convinced herself that she needed to make a bunch kinds of treats to satisfy their hunger during the day. Remus had tried to convince her that it wasn't necessary, but she explained that Max had insisted they make a bunch of things. Apparently their mother had done that when Max was very young, or at least had their house elf Mina make a bunch of things. That was where Camellia had learned to bake various sweets, and while she didn't do it often if it would make Max happy she would do it. She would do anything to make Max happy, and he admired that about her.


	21. Chapter 21

So far, the entirety of Max and Camellia's day had consisted of baking. She'd promised Remus ginger biscuits, but then Max had made a list of all the sweets he'd want, and Camellia had gone from making one thing to at least seven. She didn't mind baking, especially because Max loved to help, but she got a little stressed when the last batch of ginger biscuits was put in the oven ten minutes before Remus was set to arrive.

The Christmas decorations had already been set out by Max, as the twelve year old had a very specific way he wanted the flat to look. The flat itself was perfect for them, and the older witch had even promised in a recent letter to leave all the furniture if they wanted to buy the flat. Camellia planned on writing a few days after Christmas and telling the woman they'd love to buy it.

Camellia was busy scrubbing the kitchen clean as the dishes were washing themselves in the sink. She'd sent Max to go clean himself up-there'd been flour _everywhere_ -and she suspected he'd distracted himself with the radio instead of coming back to help her, because the station was changing frequently. She was working on a particularly stubborn chocolate stain when there was a knock at the front door. She froze, looking toward the entry in horror as Max shouted, "Cam, Remus is here!"

There was an overwhelming sense of panic for a few seconds in which she cursed rudely and threw the towel she'd been using to the counter. _Why_ she'd ever agreed to having Remus over; she was a horrible hostess. The kitchen wasn't spotless, her hair had barely even been brushed before she'd thrown it up that morning, her clothes were far too casual, and she was fairly certain there was a smear of dough on her forehead. The moment she thought to run to her room and clean herself up was the moment Remus and Max entered the kitchen.

Camellia's face immediately went red as Remus's eyes landed on her. She started to apologize, but then Remus smiled and shook his head. "Don't. This is something I'd never want to forget. Camellia Norewood, completely undone-"

Max started laughing, and soon Camellia was laughing too, and walking over and hugging Remus before she could think of what she was doing. The embrace was short, and slightly awkward, and Remus, she knew, was completely stunned because he barely hugged her back. That or he was uncomfortable with the idea. It was they'd first time they'd ever done that particular action. "I didn't-"

"I mean it's okay-"

"Remus I-"

"It's _okay_ , Camellia," he said, easing her fear that she'd messed up almost immediately.

"You two are weird sometimes," Max commented loudly, drawing their attention. Remus recovered first, laughing again and ruffling the younger boy's hair.

"Not as weird as you," he responded, watching Camellia out of the corner of her eye.

"Feel free to anything in the kitchen," Camellia said with a smile. "I'll be right back,"

She ended up staying in the comfortable clothes she'd started the day in. The only thing she changed, in fact, was running a brush through her hair and making it a tad more presentable before putting it back up. She also got the dough off her cheek as well. Remus seemed thrilled to see her when she came back out, and he seemed slightly relieved as well because Max had finally stopped talking about exactly how they were going to decorate the flat.

"So, shall we get started?" Max asked eagerly, smiling from ear to ear. It was a mixture of Christmas, Remus, and the feeling of freedom that was making him so happy, and Camellia couldn't help but feel happy that she was the force that allowed one of those things. "I was thinking that we could put the three-"

"We _know_ Max," they said together.

The decorating commenced, and after a few hours-and a few dozen strands of tinsel wrapped around Remus as he proved an easy target-the flat was decorated. To Max's standards no less, which were fairly high. Camellia and Remus ended up hanging decorations on the mantle while Max inspected each and every ornament on the tree, trying to decide if he liked how it looked. "Has he always been this obsessed with Christmas?" Remus whispered, glancing at Max to make sure the younger boy hadn't heard him.

"It was worse when he was five," Camellia explained softly, smiling fondly at her brother. "The past few years he's calmed down, though I think it's because Vaughn started snapping at him every time he got excited. This year he doesn't have to worry about that, as I'd never snap at him, so he's gone over the top again,"

"I see,"

"I quite enjoy it, actually. I love seeing him happy,"

Camellia glanced at the Gryffindor to see him smiling slightly at her, his eyes reflecting a warmth Camellia hadn't realized they could hold. "You make him happy, did you know? He talks about you all the time, especially when my friends are around. Probably because they pranked you near the start of last year. Max was furious when that happened,"

"Believe me, I know. You should have heard him going off on what happened. He's protective, which is incredibly entertaining from time to time. Annoying at others, as he nearly ruined my friendship with Reg when it started back up. He was angry, but Reg talked to him and explained the situation,"

She noticed Remus hesitate slightly at the mention of her friend, and for a moment she thought that Remus was going to try and convince her to leave her friend in the dust. "You two are good friends, aren't you? Sirius mentioned at one point that he was glad his brother had someone decent watching out for him. I think you're more than decent, really, but that's just what he said,"

Camellia chuckled as he struggled to get the words out, though it was more entertaining to watch his cheeks turn a light pink color. "I think you're more than decent as well. But on to a completely different matter; will you help me grab Max's presents from my closet and bring them out? I could do it myself but I can't carry them all at once. Or I'd rather not, anyway,"

"Of course I don't mind," Remus said, smiling at her.

"Well come on then, we don't have all day. I can't let Max know my hiding spot; he'll get into everything,"

As they walked out of the main room and toward her bedroom, Camellia heard Max call, "They're in your closet Cam, they've been there every year since you first bought me a present!"

"Shut up, Max, that's not always where I hide them!" she said loudly, sighing and frowning at Remus. "Next year they're going under the bed,"

Remus chuckled and offered her a large smile. "I'm sure he'll never find them there," he said. "Though you could always cast a spell, make them invisible,"

"I knew I kept you around for a reason," she said jokingly, lightly knocking her shoulder against his.

Remus rolled his eyes and then hesitated, staring into her room with confusion. "It's… empty," he commented. "Well, bare actually, but…"

"Well we don't own it yet; this is a trial run. I decided I'd wait,"

"Oh. Well that makes sense,"

"I thought so anyway," she stated, opening her closet and pulling out a few boxes. The heaviest was actually for Remus. She'd gotten him a few books, because he really did love them, and a few new sweaters. He always seemed to be wearing one, and she'd wanted to get him something he would surely use. "If you'd just set those out under the tree, I'm sure Max will arrange them in whatever way they'll look best. I-"

"Could I give you a present now? It's an odd time, I know, but I-"

"Oh, of course. Here, let me just-" She took the presents back and hurriedly set them on her bed. "Sorry, I hadn't realized you wanted to give me anything. I have a gift for you as well, actually,"

Remus smiled nervously at her before he pulled a small box out of his pocket. "James and I were in London the other day; I was trying to help him find a gift for Lily. Anyway, in one shop I found this thing and I thought-I _hoped_ -you would like it,"

"I'm sure it's-" She stopped as soon as she opened the small box, a wide smile coming over her face. "Remus, you're absolutely wonderful, did you know? I can't believe you remembered!"

"I've been told on occasion that I am," he said, smirking. "It's actually okay?"

"It's _perfect_ you stupid Gryffindor. How you could doubt I'd like this…" Camellia trailed off, staring at the small pendant she was now holding in her hand. It was a tiny map of Rome, where her favorite grandfather had lived for a great number of years. She'd told Remus at the end of the previous school year that she would want to travel there, if she could go anywhere, when he'd told her he'd want to go to Paris for its history. She hadn't expected him to remember, or to find such a perfect gift. "You jerk; you've made my gift look awful,"

Remus chuckled nervously, his eyes suddenly looking relieved. "I wasn't sure what to get you, and then I saw that and I remembered what you said last year. It seemed like a good idea, but ever since I bought it it I've been second guessing myself,"

"I'd appreciate anything you got me, Remus. It's the thought, anyway, that matters. You can open yours now as well, it's just not nearly as thoughtful.,"

Camellia was so focused on putting on her new necklace to watch her friend open his gift. Suddenly though, she heard Remus laugh happily. "What are you trying to do, get me to become a Slytherin?"

She'd almost forgotten about the green and silver sweater she'd bought; she'd thought it would be entertaining to see him in his house's rival's colors. "I thought it would look nice with your eyes," she said jokingly.

Remus rolled his eyes but smiled anyway. "I think this is perfect actually. Thank you Camellia,"

"You know you could call me Cam, if you wanted. Most of my friends do, and you're a great friend of mine,"

He looked surprised and quickly shook his head, offering her a kind smile. "I quite like your name, Camellia. It's fitting. If you don't mind I'd rather keep calling you that,"

"All right then," she said, her cheeks flushing lightly.

They walked back to the main room and spent much of the afternoon watching Max run around the flat and fix everything he claimed wasn't perfect yet. Remus left closer to five that evening, a container of sweets forced into his hands, after promising Max that he'd send a present along for him sometime before Christmas. He'd pulled on the green and silver sweater Camellia had gotten him as he was leaving, and he'd laughed as she'd shoved him toward the door.

Max and Camellia's night was spent eating sweets and, for Max, playing with whatever substance she produced from her wand. When she pulled away and started cooking dinner, missing Mina all the while, she listened to Max play with the radio again. It was a good day, in her opinion, one of the best on a holiday in a few years.

Once she'd finally gotten Max to go to bed that night, Camellia went to her own room and pulled out a history book, reading through it and making notes in the margins. She'd been thinking more and more about what Professor Slughorn had said, and she'd been rereading her history books and making a few notes on what she thought could have been better.

Around one o'clock in the morning Camellia finally closed her book and put it on the small nightstand.

It couldn't have been more than five minutes before she heard a few muffled bangs. Those were the first few indications that something was off, but Camellia tried to ignore them and continue sleeping. But then, there was a scream that sounded far too familiar, and Camellia sat up quickly. She looked around wearily, half sure Max was having a bad dream and could come running in any second to get some comfort. But then there was another scream.

In three seconds Camellia was out of bed and running through her bedroom door, only to be stopped by a wand pointing directly at her forehead. "Finally going to join the show, are you love?"

Camellia stared into a mask, the only thing showing the brown eyes of the person with their wand at her head. "Who are you?" she asked, attempting to make her voice sound cold. "Don't you have any idea who I am? Get _out_ of my flat, right now,"

"Is that a demand, Princess?" the man asked, chuckling softly.

"Yes, it is. Get _out_ ," she said, trying as hard as she could not to let her voice shake. " _Now_ ,"

He laughed louder then, shaking his head and cocking his head to the side. "I know exactly who you are, Camellia Norewood. I know that you and your brother Maxwell-" There was a scream then as well, and Camellia's eyes widened in horror. "-well there he is. Nice of him to make himself known. I _know_ who you are, and I know what you've done. The question is, do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do,"

" _Don't lie_ ," There was no humor in his voice as there had been before. "I don't like liars,"

"And what are you going to tell yourself when you hurt my brother and I, huh? Are you going to tell yourself that we deserved it? That a _twelve_ year old deserved it?"

"You're blood traitors. You're hardly worth my caring about you being hurt. Now come on, we're late, Princess,"

"Late for _what_ -"

"Some fun," he said menacingly, grabbing a fist full of her hair and yanking her toward Max's room. Camellia struggled, as any sensible person would do, and then the door was thrown open and she was shoved inside. The first thing she noticed was that Max was out of bed and cowering by the window. Standing with a wand directed at him was a woman, with wild graying hair that was slowly turning black again.

"Oh look at that, little stupid lion, sissy dearest has finally arrived!"

Camellia recognized the hair, that was what made everything clear to her. " _You_ -"

"Someone isn't very bright," the woman laughed, twirling her wand around. "We were told to give you each a choice, though I don't really like that course of action. How is it any fun for me if you two are smart enough to pick the right choice?"

"The _right_ choice, or whatever _you_ people think is right?"

"Feisty one you are, did you know? I don't appreciate it. Watch your tongue, girly, or you'll end up like this mouthy one," she said, nodding toward Max. It was only then that Camellia realized her brother hadn't even looked at her yet, and she struggled harder against the man that was holding her.

"What did you do to him?" Camellia asked frantically. "Max what happened? _Max_?"

His shoulders were shaking and his eyes were full of tears as he turned to face her. "C-Cam-"

The woman silenced him with a wave of her wand, her face full of fury. "I don't like him," she stated. "He reminds me too much of my dearest cousin. An idiotic Gryffindor, and too big of a mouth to say anything intelligent,"

"Max is brilliant-"

"But you, you're not completely gone yet. We could mold you back into what you're supposed to be. You could be a great little soldier, under the Imperius curse. What do you say, _Cam_?"

If she said yes, it would help Max. He would be just fine, after she got to take care of him. Then again, there was always the possibility that the people in their house wouldn't be kind to him since he'd obviously already made an enemy out of the woman. Camellia glanced at her brother again to see him shaking his head slowly, his eyes wide. He still couldn't speak, but if he was Camellia was sure he'd be telling her to be brave and that she wasn't like Vaughn; she was good. "Over my dead body," she said quietly, a steely look in her eyes. She wasn't going to give in; she was afraid, yes, and giving in was the logical thing to do, but if Max didn't want her to then she wouldn't.

"That can be arranged," the man hissed, yanking her hair a bit. "Poor choice, Princess. You would have been fun to have bend to my will,"

Camellia shuddered, tearing her gaze away from Max to look at the woman. "You've made your point, I'm a traitor. Now get out. Max and I won't tell anyone that you came, and we can pretend like tonight never happened. You don't have to hurt us," She could try reasoning with the woman, she thought, because while she may not want to listen Camellia guessed she wouldn't want to risk going to Azkaban.

"Oh, maybe you're right. After all, Vaughn did tell us not to hurt you,"

"Vaughn sent you?" Camellia asked, too surprised to notice the woman's unnerving smile. "He-He wouldn't-"

"He's loyal to us, and to the Dark Lord. Any threat needs to be taken care of, even if they're family. Isn't that what he said at the last meeting?"

"Word for word, my dear," the man said. "Remind me, did he give any specifics as to what 'taken care of' meant? Exactly?"

"He left that up to us, I believe," the woman said, cackling loudly. "You," she said, pointing her wand at Camellia, "I think a good Cruciatus might change your mind. You're weak, you're-"

"I'm _not_ weak-"

"We'll determine that by how much you scream," the man behind her said, pushing the tip of his wand into her back. Camellia could barely hear him whisper a curse she was so tense and afraid. But the next thing she knew her entire body was in pain, and she was screaming herself hoarse. Not long after it started it stopped, and Camellia could see Max launching himself at the woman who'd been laughing at her.  
"Get _off_ me you brat!" the woman said, pushing Max away so he crashed into the wall.

"Don't-Don't _touch_ him!" Camellia called, her voice sounding very different after screaming. "Don't you _dare_ touch him! Let go of me you-" She struggled more, kicking at the man and trying to hit him in a place that would surely make him release her.

Camellia noticed understanding in the woman's eyes, though it wasn't a kind that made her feel any better. "I see," the woman said, nodding and smiling. "The way to get to you is through him, isn't it,"

" _No_ -"

"It is! Oh, that's wonderful. Shall we see how much brother dearest can take before he fades away?"

"Don't-"

"Ready little Gryffindor? We'll see if you're still brave after this,"

" _Please_ -!" Camellia cried, feeling her eyes start to burn with tears. She immediately wiped them; she didn't want to show the other woman any weakness. "He's just a boy, just a little boy! He can't-"

Before she could finish her sentence the woman was cursing Max, and her younger brother's screams filled the room. It was the most gut wrenching thing Camellia had experienced, because there was nothing she could do to help. No matter what she did, she couldn't get out of the man's grip, her wand was back in her own room, and she couldn't get to his wand. Camellia started screaming as well, saying, "He's just a boy! Please don't hurt him, stop- _stop_!"

But the woman didn't stop until she was ready, and as Max's screams died down the room was instead filled with her cackling. The man released her then, and Camellia immediately ran to Max, who'd fallen to the floor and was curling into himself. "Max! Max, you'll be okay, it's not so bad, you'll be okay, I promise, _Max_ -" Camellia pulled his shaking head into her lap and stroked his hair, feeling tears start to fall down her cheeks against her will. "Max, it'll all be okay, I _promise_ ,"

Camellia Norewood didn't know what to do. She felt as though she'd been in the situation before, but she still didn't know what to do. " _Cam_ -"

She didn't wonder for a moment why the Death Eaters were letting them have their time to recover, and that would prove to be their downfall. After another moment Camellia saw a flash of green light fly over her shoulder. It missed her by inches, and she was relieved because she was sure the spell would have killed her. She knew more about the killing curse than she should.

But all of a sudden Max stopped shaking in her arms. For a second she thought he'd recovered a bit, until she looked down at him instead of at her shoulder. His blue eyes that she knew so well were completely frozen, and she could see a word forming on his lips that she knew she'd never be able to hear.

Camellia let out a bloodcurdling scream, and it didn't stop until nearly twenty minutes later when the Death Eaters were finished with their 'fun' with her. As blackness crept into her vision, and her body continued to twitch from the effects of the Cruciatus curse they'd used on her, she couldn't help but realize that it had been right. It had all been too good to be true, and she'd been stupid enough to believe that she could have some kind of luck.


	22. Chapter 22

When Remus woke up, he wasn't prepared for what he'd find sitting on the kitchen table. Nor was he prepared for his friends to come bursting in the door a mere two minutes after he finished reading the article.

Plastered on the front of the Daily Prophet was a picture of Max and Camellia, possibly a year or two old. Camellia had her arms around Max and she was kissing his cheek, both of their faces full of laughter. Above the picture were the words: **DEATH TEARS SMALL FAMILY APART**. Upon reading the words Remus grew frantic and looked at the actual article, his eyes widening and his heart pounding.

Max had died sometime in the early morning, according to the article, and it was obvious the Killing Curse had been used. Next to him had been Camellia, found unconscious but very much alive, and somehow the Ministry had been able to tell that the Cruciatus Curse had been used on her. Above the building they'd been staying in a Dark Mark had been hovering, and the Aurors had searched it. Camellia, it said, was escorted straight to St. Mungo's, and would be responsible for planning the funeral. Apparently the Ministry had gone to the family home to find Vaughn Norewood, but he'd disappeared.

Remus was a few seconds away from running to the wizarding hospital when the kitchen door burst open and his friends marched in. Sirius had the decency to look upset, as they all knew he was the one least attached to Max and Camellia. James looked absolutely horrified, whereas Lily had tears streaming down her cheeks. Peter wasn't there; they all knew he'd left on vacation that morning.

Lily immediately rushed over and hugged him, her shoulders shaking as her tears grew more frequent. "He was only twelve," she whispered as she pulled away. "He was just a little boy and they killed him,"

"What are you all doing here?" Remus asked, still wanting to go find Camellia.

"We wanted to make sure you were okay, Moony," Sirius explained quietly. "We know how much you've been around him, and how much you liked him. It can't be easy,"

"I-I don't _care_ about what I feel; what about Camellia? He's her brother, they were together so obviously she saw him die, and… and she's alone right now. She just lost Max, and she's… she shouldn't be alone. I should go-"

"Remus you're not well enough to-"

He immediately glared at James, and his friend stopped his comment. "The full moon isn't for another three days; I'm fine,"

"You should be resting," James argued.

"Max should be alive. Sometimes things don't work out the way they should,"

"He's got a point, Prongs-Hey!" Sirius exclaimed as James slapped the back of his head. "I didn't deserve that," he whined, glaring at James.

"I'm going to St. Mungo's," Remus stated. "You all should go home or something,"

"Not a chance," James said. "Don't you remember what happened last time? A few days before the full moon you were too active, wore yourself out, and proceeded to collapse on the stairs to dinner. We're going with you,"

"But I feel-"

"Yeah, I don't care how you feel. Last time you said you felt wonderful. We're going with you,"

" _James_ -"

"Remus don't argue," Lily said, after calming herself down. "You know you can't win with them, not about this. They refuse to believe you can take care of yourself,"

"I realize that, and it's infuriating," Remus muttered, glaring at his friends. "I'd like to go, now. If you're going to come, then we're leaving now,"

They didn't argue, and instead went with him to the wizarding hospital. Remus knew he should have left a note to tell his parents where he was going, but in the moment he was too concerned with finding Camellia to care about what his parents would think. For all he knew they'd assume he went off with James, Sirius, and Peter.

By the time they arrived at St. Mungo's, it was nearly nine o'clock in the morning. Remus couldn't keep any part of his body still, and his fingers continuously tapped against his legs or his arms or whatever his hands landed on. At one point in time it had been Sirius' shoulder he was tapping against, and his friend had nearly smacked him. They were close to the front of the line at the Welcoming Witch's station, and the closer they got the more nervous Remus became. He wanted to see her, to make sure she was okay.

The woman at the front desk looked highly irritated, and she glared at him as he approached her. "How can I help you today, sir?" she asked, her monotonous tone irritating him very much.

"I'm looking for Camellia Norewood-"

"Yes, you and every other teenager and reporter in this waiting room. And no, I don't care how good of a friend you are, you can see her whenever she chooses to see you. Now get out of line,"

"But-"

"We'll have you thrown out if you-"

"She's my-"

"Remus _come on_!" James said, grabbing his arm and yanking him out of the line.

"But I _have_ to see her!"

"You-"

"It's about time you showed up, Remus Lupin," said a voice from across the room, making him turn around and stare at a girl who was standing with her hands on her hips and glaring at him. He almost didn't recognize the girl, as her hair was pulled back and braided, and she wore a morose expression.

" _Anna_?" he asked in surprise, finally recognizing the face. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh what do you think I'm doing here you idiot? She was _my_ friend first, of course I came when I heard what had happened!"

"I didn't mean to offend you," he said quickly, watching her face switch from anger to understanding.

"I know. You're worried about the girl you l-" Remus coughed loudly so he wouldn't hear what she was saying, because he suspected it wasn't something he wanted to hear in that moment. "Oh fine, you refuse to admit it. Just like _she_ does,"

"Like-"

"I think we should all just sit down. She'll have to come out eventually, and then we can talk to her. No one's going to let us up and force ourselves on her. No matter how much I'd like to go up there and-"

" _Anna_ , calm down, would you?" a man asked, standing up and towering over the shorter girl. "Sorry about her, she's very good friends with Camellia Norewood, at least that's what I remember. I got done with Hogwarts last year and they were close, but from what I understand they've gotten closer since the year began,"

"Who-Who _are_ you?" Sirius asked, staring at the man with wide eyes.

"Oh, right, sorry; Anna's my girlfriend. I recognize you lot, but I don't think you'll remember me. I was a Hufflepuff, my name's Mark? It's okay if you don't,"

"I-"

"You were a prefect weren't you?" Lily asked, sitting down and pulling James down beside her.

That prompted about two hours worth of sitting and talking. Neither Remus nor Anna participated much, as they both spent too much time staring at the entrance to the wards to remember what the others were saying. Remus' tapping began again, this time against the wooden arm of the chair he was sitting in. He felt sick to his stomach, but Remus was sure it was because of what had happened and not for any reason James would guess.

But then the door leading to the wards opened, and out walked a familiar face with a healer by their side. From afar, Remus could see the lost look in Camellia's eyes, and he could see that her bottom lip was trembling something awful. The moment she glanced in their direction, everyone in their group stood up. Suddenly she looked less lost and more confused, and Remus saw her look at Anna with a raised eyebrow. Anna offered her a sympathetic look before nodding toward Remus, who was still staring at her. As soon as their eyes met her bottom lip began to tremble more, and Remus was taking a few steps in her direction.

Camellia didn't just walk calmly toward him like he expected. Instead, he found tears streaming down her cheeks as she ran toward him, throwing her arms around his neck as she got to him and nearly squeezed the life out of him. Her shoulders were shaking and her face was pressed against his chest, and Remus could hear her gasping as the ugly tears continued to come over her. "Hey-Hey," he said quietly, one arm immediately going around her middle and the other going to her hair. "Camellia-"

"He's g-gone," she murmured, her voice muffled by his clothes. "It's my f-fault that he's gone, I-"

"Camellia it's not your fault, not at all,"

"But it _is_ -"

"It's _not_ -"

"I made him-"

"He wanted to go with you, Camellia. He didn't want to be stuck in your old house any more than you did,"

"But I _knew_ -"

"You couldn't have,"

"It was-"

"Camellia nothing you do will convince me that this is your fault. Did you ask for this?" She shook her head, taking a small step backwards so that she could look at him. Remus was sure he'd never seen so much pain in anyone's eyes before, and what made it worse was the fact that he knew it wasn't all she was feeling. Her eyes never showed any emotion; if it was enough that she was in tears and letting her feelings show then he had an idea of how awful she felt. It made him feel awful too. "Did you try to stop it?" She nodded this time. "Then it's not your fault,"

She began wiping at her eyes as she took a few more steps away from him, and Remus quickly found that he wanted to be able to hold her again. But he didn't, because whatever she wanted for however long it would take for her to feel better was something he would do. Camellia turned to Anna after another few seconds, and then the Ravenclaw was running to hug her. They spoke in whispers for a while, and then Anna grabbed her boyfriend's hand and pulled him out of the waiting room, after each of them hugged Camellia.

Then she turned to his friends, and Remus could see the awkwardness on James and Sirius' faces. They weren't sure what to say, but luckily for them they had Lily to speak. "We wanted to come and express our condolences," Lily said politely, staring at Camellia with the most understanding expression she could muster.

"Thank you," Camellia said quietly, her gaze falling short of the other girl's eyes. "You didn't have to come,"

"We did," James said, piping us. "We all loved him. Maybe not as much as you, and in different ways, but… he was a good kid," He was trying to be comforting, Remus knew, but he wasn't doing well with the girl he barely knew.

"He was," she whispered, nodding and wiping fresh tears from her eyes. "The best,"

Remus watched as James and Sirius both patted her shoulder, which was odd, and Lily whispered something else to her that again Remus couldn't hear. "We'll leave you two, alright? Just… please consider letting us attend his…"

"Of course," Camellia said, nodding immediately. They walked away, all looking at Remus and Camellia one last time before they left. "I apologize for-"

"Don't," Remus said, shaking his head. "Don't apologize; you don't need to,"

"I don't… I suppose I should go back, um, _there_ ," she said, her gaze falling to the floor. "I…"

"Camellia you can't go back there. It's not safe, first of all, and secondly… you shouldn't go back there, not where you're there alone after what happened to Max,"

"I don't have anywhere else to go; I-"

Remus frowned before saying, "Come back with me,"

"Come-what?"

"Come with me. No one will mind. You won't be alone,"

"Remus I won't impose on your family,"

"My family won't care. It's just the three of us anyway, and my mother always wanted another person around. She'll be happy to have you,"

"Are-Are you sure?"

"Positive,"

Camellia hesitated for a good two minutes before she slowly nodded, saying, "Just for a little while. I won't stay long," Remus decided not to argue, as he didn't want to scare her off. They walked in silence for a little while before Camellia asked, "What's she like, your mother?" Her voice was shaking, and Remus understood she was looking for some kind of distraction.

"My mother? She's great, actually. She's a muggle, my father met her a while ago. I don't really remember the story, they told me a while ago but I never retained it. Her name's Hope, which is fitting because she was always hoping to find a cure for my-for me. For a muggle trying to understand that, and doing such a good job… I admire her," For the rest of the relatively short journey to his house that they made via Knight Bus, Remus told Camellia every detail he could think of about his parents. He wasn't sure why, but it seemed to take both their minds off Max, though every now and then Remus would say something that brought the younger boy into his mind. He was trying desperately not to let the effect of Max's death reach him yet though, because it would only make everything worse.

When they finally reached Remus' house, they walked inside and Remus was immediately attacked by questions from his mother. She had tears streaming down her cheeks, much as Camellia had not too long ago, and she was smacking his arm with a rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet. "How dare you! You are in so much trouble young man, I was _terrified_ that you'd been hurt, after this!" She shoved the Daily Prophet in his face, and Remus was once again greeted with the picture of Max and Camellia. The sight of Max so happy was upsetting, because Remus knew he would never see it again.

"Wait-" he said, trying to get the paper out of his face. "I'm fine, okay? I'm fine. I just… my friend needed me,"

"Your-" his mother stopped, finally looking at Camellia. Her eyes widened immediately and she looked back at the Daily Prophet. "Oh my-"

"I'm sorry for-"

"No, don't you be sorry," she said, wringing her hands nervously as she let the Daily Prophet fall to the floor. "I-I'll make some tea. Remus get her some of your chocolate-Oh _don't_ give me that face young man, I know what you use that for but we'll buy you more-your friend here could use it,"

Not long after arriving Camellia fell silent, almost as if she couldn't actually speak any words. Remus caught his mother watching her every now and then with worry, but she never said anything. Instead his mother, who tended to like getting into these types of situations, let him sit with Camellia in their small kitchen while their tea went cold. Camellia spent the entire afternoon staring at the counter, and Remus was worried about her but he chose not to say anything.

The next afternoon-it had taken a lot of convincing but he'd managed to get Camellia to stay-they went back to the flat Camellia and Max had been testing out. Most of the things in the flat were thrown into a box that Camellia would throw away. The few possessions Max had in his room there were put into another box, that Camellia would bring with her. One of the worst experiences in Remus' life so far had to be taking down the Christmas decorations they'd put up only a few days ago. But he hadn't accounted for the presents under the tree that they had to go through and unwrap. Before Camellia could protest he sent her home with the box of things she wanted to keep, and then proceeded to take the unwrapped presents back to the shops.

That had been worse than taking down the decorations and unwrapping Max's gifts. The shop owners had looked at him as if he were crazy, or some awful family member who was punishing a younger kid. He handled it well, for the first few stores, but he finally walked into one which a man a little older than himself was running. It was nearly empty, and the second Remus walked into the store he could feel the man's eyes on him. "I was hoping to return this," he said quietly, glad that it would be the last time he had to say those words for the awful event.

"Is there something wrong with it?"

"No, I just-"

"Well then there's no reason to return it. You've already bought it, don't take away some kid's-"

"Look I just want to return it-"

"I've had enough of you indecisive people. Keep the stupid-"

"Please don't-"

"What did the kid you're taking that away from do wrong, anyway? That's just cruel to-"

"He didn't do _anything_ ," Remus said, cold fury in his voice. "He _died_ ,"

The man looked horrified, and looked guilty immediately. "Oh, I-I mean I didn't-"

"Can I please return this now or are you going to make me keep it so it serves as a reminder?"

"Of course I'll-" The man had barely given Remus the money before he stormed out of the shop and went to an alley to cool off. He didn't want to return to Camellia upset, as that would just upset her.

Nearly a week later, and three days after the worst Christmas of his life, Remus dressed in his nicest robes-which still weren't great-and attended the funeral of Max Norewood. It was a fairly large affair, and quite a few people showed up with Remus hadn't realized would happen.

His friends were there, along with James' parents who immediately drifted over to Remus' own parents, who'd decided to attend as well. Anna the Ravenclaw was there with two older people, probably her parents, and her boyfriend that they'd met at St. Mungo's. Every single one of Max's friends were in attendance, most looking shocked next to their parents. A few looked furious that his death had happened. Remus' eyes got stuck on one girl he recognized as Max's Hufflepuff friend Cassandra. She was crying in what would be a hysterical manner if she wasn't keeping herself silent, and Remus couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He had noticed that her and Max were rather close. The most uncomfortable situation was the fact that Regulus Black, who obviously would have come, had to be escorted by his parents.

Throughout the entire service, in which Camellia sat with a stony expression on her face, Mr. and Mrs. Black had upturned noses and an expression that made them look like they'd smelled something terrible. As Max's coffin was lowered into the ground and people started walking away, parents with their arms around their children or friends holding each other for support, the Blacks stood behind their youngest friend. Seeing them had made Sirius look sick, but he'd stuck around to let Camellia know that she had his support. He seemed to almost like her after what had happened, and Remus knew it was because he felt sorry for her. But as long as they got along, Remus didn't mind why it was.

Regulus Black hugged Camellia tightly before his father yanked him backwards, making his son straighten his robes and look at Camellia sadly. "I'm so-"

"It's a real shame," Mrs. Black said loudly, glancing at everyone around her, "that you allowed all of these people to attend young Maxwell's funeral,"

"Excuse me?" Camellia asked coldly, her eyes narrowing at the powerful older woman. "They're his friends, they should get to mourn him as well,"

"All I mean is that to invite mudbloods," she threw a pointed look at Lily, which made James go red in the face, "half-bloods," she looked at Anna the Ravenclaw and then Remus himself, "and blood traitors, you're dishonoring his memory. For the short time anyone remembers the stupid runt, they'll remember a blood traitor-"

" _What_ did you just call my brother?"

"Well this isn't good," Sirius said, leaning over to whisper in his ear.

"I realize that,"

"He was weak. If he were strong he would have been a Slytherin, and he would have encouraged _you_ to stay with your brother Vaughn. He never would have died if you'd done that, do you realize? You've basically killed him with your traitorous ways,"

Camellia looked stunned, and almost like she wanted to attack the older woman. "You _daft, cold-hearted woman_ -"

"Watch your tongue, young lady-"

"Not until you watch yours you imbecile!"

"I will-"

"You'll do _nothing_ ," Camellia said angrily, her face going red. "You won't _ever_ speak to me again, not if you insist on insulting _him_ -"

"You do not get to tell me what to do!"

"And why is that?"

"I am your superior; I-"

"Funnily enough I don't care what you think you are to me. Don't ever talk about him again, not unless you're telling me how wonderful he is- _was_ ,"

Mrs. Black looked so surprised to be talked to in such a nasty way by Camellia that she turned away immediately and left with her husband and Regulus. Sirius congratulated Camellia on standing up to his mother as well as apologized for her actions, and explained that he agreed that Max was amazing. Everyone who was left said much of the same thing, until the only people left were Camellia, Remus, and his parents. "You two should go," Remus said quietly, watching Camellia who was staring at Max's headstone. "We'll make it back later, but it might be a while. Don't worry about us,"

His parents looked concerned but left anyway, after telling Camellia that it had been a beautiful service. As soon as they were gone Camellia fell to her knees in front of her brother's grave and began crying, so Remus hurried over and put an arm around her shoulders. "It will be okay, one day," he whispered as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "It will be okay, I promise. One day, it will be okay again," And he certainly hoped he wasn't lying when he told Camellia the words he thought she most needed to hear.


	23. Chapter 23

Camellia didn't like imposing on people. Hence why she and Remus fought almost every day of the holiday about her staying with him. She didn't want to intrude on the family, as on the rare moments she saw them without her they seemed truly happy. She was miserable, and she didn't want to make them all miserable with her presence. But every time she expressed her concerns to Remus he called her an idiot and told her that she was welcome as long as she wanted to stay. Despite her assurance that _tomorrow is the last day_ , Camellia couldn't bring herself to leave the warmth of the Lupin household.

Remus' mother, who insisted on being called Hope instead of Mrs. Lupin, had made it her mission to fill Camellia's free time with lessons. Most of it was baking, which they both seemed to have knack for, but on occasion she would attempt to teach Camellia about other skills the older woman thought were important. Camellia didn't mind; it had been a long time since she was around a proper mother figure and she found herself craving her own mother more, but it still made her feel slightly better.

When Camellia wasn't spending time with Remus' mother, she was with Remus himself. They would play muggle games, or listen to the radio, or often sit in silence. Sometimes they would just talk, rarely about Max because that would often make her shut down completely. One of the oddest things they did was read together, which they made more complicated than Camellia had thought possible. The first time they'd sat down to read, each with their own books, they'd ended up laughing and smacking each other with the books they'd been reading. Though Camellia stopped soon, feeling awful for laughing so soon after Max had died. They'd tried sitting on the sofa if they both felt like reading, because they thought it would be the most comfortable. But Remus liked to take up half of the sofa, and Camellia preferred laying on her back and often taking up the entire thing. They quickly found the best place to sit was the floor, with Remus' back pressed against the wall while Camellia laid on the floor next to him, at times her head resting quite comfortably in his lap. Remus' parents thought it was entertaining to see, but they found it more comfortable than anything else. As much as she focused on her own pain at the thought of her brother dying, she knew the matter hurt Remus as well. Being near each other was just easier, and it made them both feel better.

The time there was no way Camellia would feel better was when she was laying in the Lupin's guest room at night, waiting for sleep to make its way into her mind and bring her peace. She'd never had trouble falling asleep before but now her mind never wanted to shut down. In the dark, when all she could do was stare blankly at the ceiling, she thought of Max and how he deserved to be there instead of her. Maybe an hour or two after laying down she would be able to fall asleep, but in her opinion that was still far too long.

Some nights she ended up wandering down to the Lupin's family room, where she would fall asleep with a book in her lap or some other thing she'd been doing to occupy her mind. Some nights Remus seemed to know that she couldn't sleep, for he would meet her in the family room and spend time with her. Talking to him quieted her mind, and not long after talking she would end up falling asleep once back in the guest room.

She was attached to Remus now, more than she'd been before. He was the only one who was there, though she knew Regulus wasn't allowed to be there for her, but that still mattered to her. Anna would want to help her through her grief, but Camellia never wanted her Ravenclaw friend to see that, nor did she want to spread her feelings around. Anna would keep quiet to most, she knew, but she would tell some of her other friends when the situation upset her and Camellia simply wasn't close enough to them to want the other Ravenclaws to know.

Finally the day came when Camellia would no longer have to impose on Remus' family, and she felt relief at not causing his family any more problems. No matter how much she'd grown to adore the simple house Remus lived in, she needed to get away from people fussing over her. Besides, Camellia was certain his parents would love to get back to their own lives.

Remus' parents accompanied them to Kings Cross Station, and to the platform as well. Camellia was silent, looking around at the other students sadly. She'd spotted a group of Max's friends, and some were smiling and attempting to get the others to do the same, but some seemed to have permanent frowns on their faces. Cassandra, the Hufflepuff Max had been extremely close to, still looked to be fighting back tears. The second year suddenly locked eyes with Camellia, and to the Slytherin's surprise nodded at her and tried to smile. Camellia simply stared at the girl in confusion, before she realized that Remus' mother was pulling her in for a hug. "-anytime, dear, I mean it. You come back any time you need to,"

"Oh, I-"

"You'd be like family. We'd all like that, wouldn't we Lyall, Remus?"

Remus went red in the face for a reason Camellia couldn't comprehend, but he nodded. His father on the other hand was observing her carefully and nodding slowly, before he decided to offer her a small smile. "Let the poor girl leave without causing a scene, Hope," Remus' father said quietly. "She knows how you feel, my dear, and she won't forget,"

Remus' mother frowned and lightly hit her husband on the arm, before she laughed quietly. "I suppose you two should hop onto the train. Be sure to write, Remus, won't you? And you should write too, Camellia, let us know how you're doing?"

"Oh, I… I'll try my hardest then," Camellia said softly, surprised that Remus' parents would want her to write them a letter. It was quite an odd request, considering Camellia was sure they hadn't exactly loved her presence in their home.

"Don't try, dear, just do it," Remus' mother said before pulling Camellia in for a hug. She was startled but she hugged the older woman back.

After releasing her, Hope Lupin grabbed her own son and held him tightly, whispering something into his ear that Camellia couldn't hear. He flushed, for a moment, and then turned toward Camellia. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," she said.

They made their way onto the train, and while Camellia followed Remus to his compartment, she couldn't bring herself to walk inside. "Aren't you coming?" he asked, sticking his head out of the door. Camellia looked around the empty compartment, noticing a few carvings in the wood, before she shook her head.

"I don't think so, no. I'll feel more comfortable by myself. You stay with your friends though; you should spend some time with them since you didn't really get to over the holiday,"

She tried to smile, but it came out as more of a grimace that probably didn't give Remus any comfort. "Camellia they wouldn't mind if you-"

"But I would. I have nothing against your friends, not anymore at least, but I don't think sitting with them is the best idea,"

"But you sat with us on September first," he reasoned, frowning at her.

"And Peter Pettigrew seemed to hate my presence. I'll sit by myself; I want to try to take a nap anyway and that will work better if it's quiet,"

"But-"

"No but's, Remus. I'll see you later, alright?" She left before he could say another word, but at least he respected her wishes and didn't try to follow her. She found an empty compartment near the back of the train and walked inside, hoisting her trunk onto the rack above her head with a great deal of difficulty. It was only after she'd put it there that she remembered she could have just levitated it on to the rack, and she felt very silly for not realizing that.

She spent the first hour of the train ride thinking, something she'd tried not to do much since Max's death. But alone, the vicious thoughts plagued her. It was her fault, wasn't it? She'd been the one to go against Vaughn, and she'd dragged Max with her. If she hadn't done that then _Max would still be alive_. There was the possibility Camellia would have an ugly image burned into her arm, and that she wouldn't even be under her own control, but Max would be alive. And that was worth it in the end, to have Max alive. because she missed him, more than she missed her parents, and she would do anything to have him back.

Camellia knew she wasn't the only one grieving her brother's death. Max had friends of his own, and she'd seen Cassandra the Hufflepuff's tears at Max's funeral. She knew Remus' friends were upset over the death. And she knew that Remus had to be upset as well, probably more than most, because he and Max had been so close. But Camellia couldn't' focus on their grief as well as her own, because if she did she thought herself likely to go insane.

When the train arrived at Hogsmeade, Camellia walked off and looked around, feeling a bit lost. But she wasn't standing alone long, because only a few seconds of staring at the other students brought Regulus to her side. Before she could even greet her, he was hugging her as tightly as he could. "I'm so sorry-I'm _so_ sorry. I can't _believe_ she said that at his _funeral_ -"

"Reg-"

"I should have said something, I know, but I was afraid of getting in trouble and-"

"Reg it's fine," Camellia said softly, feeling her friend relax as he held her. "I understand,"

"I was so worried you'd be mad at me," he mumbled. "I was worried you'd never forgive me and I couldn't handle the thought of that. Have you any idea how many times I thought of just leaving? Being like my brother? It would have been worth it, if it was for you. But I…"

"You were scared," Camellia supplied, patting his shoulder. "It's okay, Reg, I understand. I don't think I could have brought myself to leave if I were in your situation either,"

The two friends walked quietly to a carriage after that, and Regulus explained the better portions of his holiday. Camellia didn't feel like talking about hers, which Regulus understood, so he tried to stretch his stories out as much as possible.

The worst part of the walk into the great hall for dinner that night were the stares. Suddenly the entire student body was staring at her, some with sympathy in their eyes and others with what looked like pure hatred. As soon as she noticed, Camellia couldn't do anything but let her cheeks warm and her hands shake with nerves. The stares finally stopped when Professor Dumbledore stood at the front of the room, a somber expression on his face as he surveyed the students. Everyone expected a few light words to start the meal, similar as to what he did at the beginning of the school year. But that definitely wasn't what they got. Instead, the aging man's eyes landed on Camellia, and she was sure he was speaking directly to her. "This holiday," he began, speaking with a low tone that was nothing like the happy one he typically used. "has been filled with sadness. We've lost one of our own-"

Every eye shifted toward the Gryffindor table, though Camellia looked to Cassandra and saw the younger girl's eyes fill with tears. She wanted to comfort the girl, but the next second Julie was there, switching between comforting her and looking toward Camellia with sad eyes. Professor Dumbledore a few more words to say, about how they should be careful because there will be people trying to rip away happiness and kind people, but Camellia already knew that. She didn't listen well, though from the looks on Max's friends faces they felt better.

As soon as she was done eating that night Camellia left for the Slytherin common room, avoiding the pointed stares of the professors and Remus.

She quickly learned that sleeping at Hogwarts wasn't any easier than sleeping at Remus'. Over the course of the next week she was still having trouble falling asleep, and for the first few days she decided to just read in bed and hope that was enough to block her thoughts. It wasn't enough though, because she would stop paying attention to the words on the page and instead let memories of Max invade her mind. Those would always leave her with tears in her eyes, and Camellia didn't like crying.

On the fourth night back from Hogwarts, Camellia decided that sitting in bed was pointless. She wasn't accomplishing anything productive, and while there weren't many options for a productive thing to do when she'd already finished her homework, Camellia thought she could do something to wear herself out so she would fall asleep faster. That started her nightly walks around the castle. For some reason she didn't care about getting caught, and she didn't care if she ended up with a detention. It didn't matter to her anymore. Nothing did, not really.

She was well into her second week of wandering the castle at night, a total of five detentions under her belt, when someone fell into step beside her. They didn't say anything, and Camellia refused to look to the side to see who it was. She had a feeling she already knew, and if she was wrong she didn't want to figure it out.

"You should be in bed," a quiet voice said, one that Camellia had been hoping to hear. She looked up at Remus then, frowning at him.

"I can't fall asleep," she said softly, turning her gaze back to the floor. Her hands were shoved deep into her pockets, and she continued to stare at the floor as they walked. "Walking helps. Moving makes me more tired than sitting and reading,"

She assumes Remus nods, because he doesn't say anything for a good few minutes. They just continued to walk in silence, though that doesn't help. The thought that Remus might blame her for Max kept entering her mind, and Camellia could feel her eyes start to water. She doesn't want him to think that of her, but if he's right then… "You've been avoiding me, Camellia," he said, a sad tone that made Camellia glance at him. "Is it because of Max? Do you need to talk about it?"

"No," Camellia said quickly, shaking her head and looking at Remus with a frown. "No, that's the exact opposite of what I need,"

Remus nodded, saying, "Then we won't talk about him. Is there anything you do want to talk about?"

Camellia shrugged and looked at Remus, still frowning. "I'm quite fond of fruit, if you wanted to have a discussion about that," she said numbly.

Remus let out a short laugh, and Camellia smiled at the sound. She liked Remus' laugh; somehow it made her feel a little better. "What's your opinion on apples?" he asked.

Most nights when Remus had patrol ended up like that. Some nights when he didn't have patrol he'd still come out, seeming incredibly unconcerned about getting caught. He appeared to know the best hiding places in the entire castle, so the number of detentions she ended up in got smaller. It was nice, she decided, to walk with Remus. If he blamed her for Max's death then he was very good at not showing it, because he always tried to offer her comforting smiles.

Some nights were better than others. Some nights they would have light conversations like their first one, which usually left them both laughing. Other nights were full of serious conversation, about their futures and what they were going to do with their lives. On a few rare nights, they just walked around in silence. The silence wasn't exactly comfortable, and it was those nights that Camellia had the hardest time falling asleep once she got back from her walk. The other nights allowed her to collapse into bed and fall asleep immediately. She was starting to fall asleep easier anyway, though she kept going for the walks.

It was Remus that kept her going out at night. She liked spending time with her, and she was sure he liked to be with her as well. She'd started thinking of him as one of her best friends, along with Regulus and Anna. Regulus was there for her when Evan and his friends made comments on Max in the common room. Camellia usually stormed out after those moments, despite Regulus' words making her feel a bit better. Anna was doing much of the same and blocking questions every time she was with Camellia. She appreciated her friends greatly, and she appreciated them trying to make her feel better.

But it was Remus who made her feel the best. He never tried to push her into conversations she wasn't ready for, and his response to questions was usually just a silencing spell shot in the person's direction. He was sick of the questions, he'd ranted one night, because the story had been in the Daily Prophet and if people were really so curious he thought they should just go back and reread it. Camellia agreed with him, though she'd just nodded during his rant and listened to him. She'd done one other thing that surprised them both, and made Remus' rant falter ever so slightly.

Since that night, every walk Camellia and Remus took together included them walking side by side, fingers laced together to give another form of comfort to the other. They never spoke of it, nor did they think about it much, but without fail one of them would grab the other's hand and that was how they'd wander the castle.


	24. Chapter 24

Camellia Norewood was ruining his life. And Remus was furious with himself for allowing it to happen. If he'd never listened to Max and gotten curious about the Slytherin girl, then he would have been safe. The perfect wall he'd built around his heart would still be intact, or as intact as it had been after James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily had gotten through it. He wouldn't _feel_ anything for Camellia. But now, after being friends with her for over a year, Remus could admit to himself-and apparently James, Sirius, and Peter when he was half asleep-that he was falling for her. Just that little bit of knowledge had sent the remainder of his wall tumbling down, leaving him vulnerable and afraid of getting hurt.

Because Camellia Norewood would reject him the moment she found out he had feelings for her. She would be disgusted at the very thought, because they both knew he was a monster. And they both knew, Remus was sure, that Camellia deserved far better than a sick, dangerous boy that would surely never make her happy.

Remus knew he wasn't supposed to experience any kind of romantic emotion. It was unfair to both him and the person he fell for. Remus would live with an ache in his chest because he would never get the happiness that came with being in a relationship. The person he fell for would spend a great deal of time being uncomfortable because a werewolf had feelings for them. Really, any way you looked at it was bad.

These thoughts plagued him almost constantly, and Remus hated it. And he was sure he would have been able to just forget the feelings and move on, had it not been for those little moments of hope Camellia gave him. Every night they wandered together-and Remus was very careful to keep track- _she_ grabbed his hand. Remus didn't know exactly why she'd started doing it, but he did know that she seemed to feel better when she did. Remus felt a bit of relief each time, for he always wondered if that night was going to be the night she decided she wanted nothing to do with him and his clammy hands.

It was that series of thoughts, along with the morose air in the Gryffindor common room that had Remus repeatedly escaping to his bed. James, Sirius, and Peter would often try to lure him back down the stairs with promises of games or some other fun thing to take his mind off the Norewood family. Remus didn't really want to go down and see people staring at him, as many were doing with him and Max's friends. The Gryffindors were upset over losing Max, but most were very curious about the real story. He'd even noticed some actually going up to Camellia and asking what had happened. She was furious every time someone asked, and once she got them to leave her alone she would end up hurrying off to the bathroom. Remus could always see the tears in her eyes when people asked about him though, so he was fairly sure she was running off so no one would see them fall down her face. She'd only openly cried in front of people at St. Mungos, and Remus knew she was embarrassed about having done that.

Sometimes she would just slide out of her chair and leave class if people were bothering her about Max, and none of the professors did anything to stop her. Some looked like they wanted to, others just stared after her in pity which Remus knew Camellia hated. " _Remus_ , are you deaf or something?" Sirius asked as a pillow hit Remus' head.

"Hey-!" Remus said immediately, sitting up a little straighter and turning to glare at his friend. It was a little after midnight on a Thursday at the beginning of February, and the only one currently asleep was Peter. He'd never been able to stay awake long, which meant James, Sirius, and Remus ended up having multiple conversations without him. Remus had always felt a little bad about that, but if Peter wasn't awake it wasn't like they would just stop everything until he woke back up.

"Be quiet, Moony, Peter needs his beauty sleep," James said, his eyes focused on a book in his lap. Lily had convinced him to read a muggle novel she was fond of, and James wanted to finish it as quickly as possible so Lily would be impressed with him.

"Sirius threw a pillow at me!"

"Sirius don't throw pillows at Remus," James said, hardly even listening.

"Remus wasn't listening to me, Prongs!"

"Remus listen to Sirius," James muttered, sounding irritated. "And leave me alone; I want to finish this by morning," Remus and Sirius both scowled at James, and before the other boy could even think that something would happen, Sirius had started throwing pillows at him, and Remus had done the same. James made a frustrated noise as his book slipped out of his hands and his glasses were knocked off. "Really?"

"Your own fault," Sirius said, shrugging as James chucked a pillow back at him. But without his glasses on James could hardly see, so he ended up hitting Peter. Remus and Sirius stared in horror at the sleeping boy, knowing he'd be upset if they woke up him, while James kept asking them if he hit Sirius or not. Peter simply shifted and groaned, and Remus and Sirius both let out a breath of relief. "Be careful, Prongs, you almost woke him up!"

"Well if you hadn't knocked my glasses off," James grumbled, finally shoving them back onto his face. "I can't _see_ when they're off, you-" James stopped talking as a tapping sounded at their window. "What the hell is that?"

Sirius was out of his bed before either James or Remus could stand up. He opened the window and in flew an owl none of them recognized. "What-What is an owl doing here this late? Who sends mail after _midnight_?" Sirius asked, taking the letter and frowning before looking at Remus in surprise. "It's, um, for you, Moony,"

"For-For _me_?"

"Well unless your name is no longer Remus Lupin-"

Remus stood and tore the letter out of Sirius' hands, frowning as he opened it.

 _The fact is, As the head of my family, your association with my younger sister and Knack for getting Each of my siblings to follow you is astounding._  
 _Could you stop being Around my sister, as she will Require much of the same training from her Early life to get her back to a proper state?_  
 _Offer her nothing, and she will Forget you as she should._  
 _Her safety relies Entirely on your cooperation of this Request._

Remus stared at the note in confusion, knowing that if Camellia saw the note she would be furious. She wouldn't even speak of her older brother, not since Max had died. And that had to be who wrote the note, because they referred a younger sister and the only person he was friends with that had an older sibling that was also the head of their family was Camellia. "What is it, Remus?" Sirius asked, coming up to stand behind him and read the note over his shoulder. "Remus?"

"I think-I think Camellia's brother sent me a letter," he stated, still staring at the note. There was something red on the corner of the parchment, and Remus almost thought it looked like blood. Which wouldn't be good, because that probably meant he was hurt. Even if Camellia wasn't speaking to him, they'd been close once.

"Remus," James said gently, looking at him with worried eyes. "Remus, mate, Max is-"

"Not _Max_ ," Remus said immediately, sending a quick glare at James who held his hands up in surrender. "Her older brother; Vaughn,"

"Her-Her _older_ brother sent you a letter? Why would her older brother send _you_ a letter?" Sirius asked, grabbing the letter. "What-What does this even _mean_?"

"Well I don't know, do I?"

"Well he sent _you_ the letter, Remus. Obviously he wanted to tell you something,"

"But it doesn't even make sense! He's just telling me to stay away from Camellia and that I've basically ruined her life, which I already know he thinks. So what is he-"

"Let me see it," James said, ripping the letter out of Sirius' hands and reading it over himself. After a moment, he grinned widely and smirked at the two of them. "Obviously there's a secret message, guys-"

"James not everything is a mystery," Sirius said irritably, grabbing for the letter again.

"What other explanation can you give for a completely _random_ letter in the _middle_ of the night, Sirius? Because if you've got a better theory I'd love to hear it,"

"Well what do you think the message is, James? There's nothing there to suggest any kind of message,"

"Look at the _letters_ , Sirius. There's something odd about it,"

"Well you figure it out," Remus said, looking at the letter in disgust. "I'm going to bed,"

Remus only managed to get about a half hour of sleep before Sirius was actually jumping on top of him and yelling for him to wake up. Remus groaned and loudly swore at Sirius, and told him to leave him alone. "Take care of her, Remus, take care of her!"

"Sirius go to _bed_ -Take care of _who_ -?"

"Don't be stupid, Remus, wake _up_ and look at it! _Take care of her_ , Remus, that's what the note says. Take care of her; it's all in the capitalization!" James said, throwing himself beside Remus on his bed.

"Will you get off!" Remus said, shoving Sirius off him and trying to push James off his bed as well. He rubbed his face with his hands and sat up, glaring at his two friends before once again asking, "Take care of who?"

The look James gave him made Remus feel rather stupid, but his still sleepy brain wasn't up for processing much of anything at that point. "Camellia, of course," he said, rolling his eyes. "You _are_ tired, aren't you,"

"That would be why I went to bed, yes," Remus said irritably, glaring at his friends. "Nowhere in that letter did Vaughn Norewood instruct me to take care of Camellia; don't be stupid,"

"As I said, it's all in the capitalization. Look at it, Moony. Why make the k in knack capital but not the y in younger. Why the o, the f, the c, the a… Why make the random letters bigger? Put them together and they make a sentence. TAKE CARE OF HER. He wants you to take care of Camellia, Remus,"

"But why would he-"

"Something's gone wrong, obviously. Maybe the giant idiot has finally realized that he's in the wrong and knows it's best to stay away from her, but he wants someone to make sure she's alright?"

"But he didn't care about her before, so why care about her now?"

"Don't ask me that question, all I know is that he sent _you_ that message," James said, shrugging. "Show it to her in the morning; surely she'll have something to say about it?"

James and Sirius spent the next few minutes theorizing what had changed in Camellia's brother's life to make him send that letter, while Remus stared at it as his eyes started to close again. He could see it in the letters now, but it didn't make any sense to him. Why he would send that letter… Remus couldn't figure it out.

He knew the next morning though, as soon as he saw Camellia. She wore a hate-filled expression on her face, and stared moodily at the Slytherin table throughout the first part of breakfast. Remus automatically assumed she'd received a letter as well, because he'd never seen her look that angry before, unless she was talking about Vaughn. When Camellia stood and hurried toward the door, Remus left his own breakfast behind and followed her. "Are you alright?" he asked, catching up to her.

"Perfectly fine, thanks," she said stiffly, trying to smile at him but failing.

"Did you get one too?" he asked instead, letting Camellia's cold glare turn to him instead. "Your brother wrote me this, I thought maybe you'd understand?" He held out the letter he'd shoved in his pocket that morning, and Camellia took it gingerly.

"Well don't listen to this nonsense," she said, crumpling it up.

"James and Sirius seem to think it's some kind of message,"

"Well of course it is. Vaughn never did anything easily," Camellia still looked furious, and Remus sighed. He wanted to ask why he shouldn't listen to that particular message, but he didn't want to upset her any more than she already was.

"What's wrong, Camellia? Is it something to do with Max?"

For a moment they just walked in the direction of Camellia's first class without saying anything, which neither of them seemed to mind. But then it was Camellia who was sighing, and her anger faded into sadness. "Vaughn has… _decided_ to turn himself in for what happened over the holiday,"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he's probably changed his stupid mind after they killed Max, and realized that _he was wrong_ , and they would never protect us like he thought they would. That, or they realized I would know it was the Death Eaters who'd killed him, and I wouldn't just let them get away with it. If they make Vaughn confess, I'll sound crazy when I say that it wasn't him who actually cast the spell. He may have sent them, but he wasn't there. He didn't want Max to die.

"I know... I _know_ he didn't want Max to die. Somewhere, there's still some tiny _shred_ of decency in him. He wouldn't want us to die; he thought he was protecting us. But that doesn't mean I have to forgive him like he wants,"

"Did he ask for your forgiveness?"

"He practically begged for it. He wanted to meet me at Hogsmeade when we have our visit this weekend,"

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him to rot in Azkaban," she said coldly, her eyes narrowing as she glanced at Remus. "That's what he deserves,"

"Camellia, he's your brother," Remus tried. He didn't like the thought of Camellia meeting up with him again, but the hate in her eyes was something he thought was much worse. Remus knew she had to forgive her older brother if she ever wanted to feel peaceful again. Hate was something that would destroy her, because Remus didn't think she was really meant to do it.

"I don't care what he is, Remus,"

"Camellia…" When she glanced at him, Remus could very clearly see tears in her eyes. She looked heartbroken, which made him frown.

"I'm not ready," she said softly, her voice very fearful. "I'm not ready to forgive him, Remus, because if I do then I can't tell myself it's his fault. And it will be my fault all over again,"

"Your fault? How could it be your fault? You didn't kill Max, Camellia, and you're not responsible for what happened,"

She frowned at him, before shaking her head and stopping outside her first class. "I heard noises, Remus. Bangs and such. I thought it was nothing, but I should have known. And then he screamed. He _screamed_ and I just stayed in my bed. I thought he'd had a nightmare and would come running in. But _I should have known_ ,"

"That's not your fault. How were you supposed to know they were coming? And what you thought, Camellia, were plausible explanations to the things you were hearing. The only ones at fault are the ones who hurt the both of you. But Vaughn is the only family you have left-"

"That's not true," Camellia said quickly. "I have you, don't I? You can be my family too, can't you?"

Remus' expression softened immediately, and he smiled at her. "Of course I can. But he's your brother, Camellia. And one day, when all this has passed, you'll want him around again. But first you have to talk to him. I'm not saying forgive him yet, eventually yes, but you should at least talk to him,"

"I'm not going there alone, Remus,"

"I never said you had to,"

It took a great deal of convincing, but that weekend Remus escorted Camellia to The Three Broomsticks to meet her brother. They found him near the back of the building, and while Remus could see the resemblance, it wasn't as strong as it had been when they'd both attended Hogwarts. Vaughn Norewood looked pale and sickly, and his eyes were wide and terrified. "Cam," he breathed, looking confused. "You're that boy, aren't you?"

"His name is Remus," Camellia said stiffly, her knuckles turning white as she clenched Remus' hand. He couldn't remember exactly when she'd grabbed on to him, but he hadn't mentioned it. "And before you ask, he's not going anywhere. The only reason I'm here is because he convinced me to come, so you can go ahead and thank him,"

"Camellia that's not necessary," Remus said softly, pulling her down into a chair so they didn't look so odd just standing.

She glared at him quickly, but didn't say anything more on the topic. "What do you want to say, Vaughn?"

He hesitated, his eyes flickering to Remus for a moment before he stared back at his sister, clearing his throat. "I wanted to tell you goodbye, Camellia," he said, his voice weak. "Tomorrow I'm going to the ministry, and…"

"And you'll turn yourself in. I know, Vaughn, you wrote that in your letter,"

"I've worked out a deal, Cam," he said, gaining speed as he looked at the others in the pub nervously. "They won't go near you, any of them. They promised me they wouldn't go near you if I turned myself in,"

"And you honestly believe them? Don't be stupid, Vaughn, as if that has worked before,"

"They'll do it this time. They'll stay away from you because I'm doing this. Don't you see? This is my reward for-"

"Vaughn you're doing this because you're afraid. I can see it in you. Have you even looked in a mirror as of late? You look terrible, and it's because of _them_ ,"

"It's not their fault," he protested weakly, "I'm protecting you, Cam, didn't I tell you I'd do that? You should thank me, Cam, and tell me that-"

" _Thank_ you? I'll thank you when you leave them, and when you stop acting so _foolish_ ," Camellia said angrily, turning her gaze to Remus. "This was a mistake. I knew this was a mistake, but you made me come. I'd like to leave now,"

"Cam wait-"

"Remus _please_ ," He nodded then and stood, Camellia rising with him and giving her brother one last disdainful look. "Do you remember what you told me the first time I ever fell off a broom? You said that you'd always be there. Do you remember?"

"Of course I...I…"

Camellia looked surprised, and then hurt that her brother didn't remember an event that was obviously important to her. "Well, anyway, you're doing an awful job of it. I hope prison clears your head," Camellia pulled Remus out of the pub without one glance at her brother. As soon as they were out, Remus led her to a secluded area, and she folded her arms across her chest. "I told you I didn't want to do that," she said softly, her eyes on the ground as tears welled in them. "I knew that would end badly, and I told you I didn't want to do that,"

"You had to give it a shot though, Camellia," Remus said quietly, offering her a smile. "I'm proud of you for giving it a chance,"

She frowned, shaking her head slowly. "I want to go back to Hogwarts. You should meet up with your friends,"

"But don't you want someone to-"

"I'll be okay. I think you should go meet up with your friends. I'll see you after dinner, okay?" Remus nodded, hoping she wasn't too mad at him. She seemed more upset than anything else, and he felt bad about making her go meet her brother, but he still thought it was for the best. With that off her chest, she might be able to move on, and then he was sure her life wouldn't be quite as miserable as she felt it was now.


	25. Chapter 25

It was just past five in the morning on a Friday near the end of February, and Camellia was dressing as quickly as possible. She probably could have gone faster, but she knew that she wouldn't get the chance to go back to her dormitory that morning, and she wanted to look at least partially presentably. Still, her customary bun was a messier than normal, and her Slytherin tie could hardly classify as being actually tied. In her defense, it was five in the morning and she was exhausted.

But the previous night at dinner, James Potter and Sirius Black had approached her and told her they were worried about that night. Camellia knew exactly what they were talking about, because ever since she'd found out Remus' secret she'd tried to keep track of the times when Remus would feel sick. She wanted to help him as best as she could, even though she couldn't do that much. So, the best thing Camellia could think to do was to go to the hospital wing and be there for him when he woke up. She hoped her presence would be some sort of comfort, and he did always seem happy to see her. More than normal as of late; Remus was smiling at her far more than he used to.

Camellia didn't mind that, actually. She found Remus' smile quite charming, and she loved to see him happy. Seeing that smile that managed to light up his face and bring his eyes to life made her forget, for just a little while, the hell her personal life had gone to. Max was dead and she still wasn't sure she'd ever get over it. Vaughn had turned himself in to the ministry for what happened to Max, and the story had been all over the Daily Prophet the day after he'd done it.

She'd received a lot of mail in the days that followed the article about Vaughn, as it had also mentioned her part in the events and stated that she was the last of the Norewood family to be free and living. She was surprised at how many had sent her letters of condolences, as she hadn't expected anything from anyone. Camellia certainly hadn't expected the letters telling her that it was her who should have died, not Max. She couldn't say that she didn't agree with the letters, but it hurt to know that complete strangers felt the same. Remus had seen some of those particular letters and gone red in the face, spending the next ten minutes ranting about the people that sent them and about how he was glad she was okay. One part of the speech that Camellia found herself going back to was when he'd said, _I don't know what I'd do if I'd lost you, or both of you_ , though she knew Remus didn't mean much by it.

Still, it felt good to know that she was important to Remus. He was important to her as well, just as important as Regulus and Anna, if not more. They spent more and more time together as the days went by, and Camellia found herself longing for the quiet moments in their classroom throughout her day. It was relaxing to just go somewhere she felt safe, and somewhere she felt she didn't have to wear a cold glare and an angry expression. That was her best defense for keeping curious students away from her, but with Remus she didn't need it because he already knew everything.

Camellia gave herself a once-over in the mirror before grabbing her bag and hurrying out of her dormitory. She closed the door quietly, so she wouldn't wake the girls in her dormitory and make them upset. She practically ran out of the Slytherin common room and out of the dungeons, continuing her quick pace until she reached the doors of the hospital wing. There she paused, taking a deep breath and trying to prepare herself for what might be inside. Remus would be hurt, and sick, and she hated seeing him like that.

Not even a second later she pushed the doors open and slipped inside, scanning the dark room for Remus' familiar form. She found him in a bed near the end, three figures surrounding him, and doubling as the source of whispering in the room. Camellia made her way to the boys Remus called friends without hesitation, and threw herself into a chair that had conveniently been left open on Remus' left. "What's Madam Pomfrey said?" she asked, ignoring the slightly irritated look she got from Peter and instead focusing her eyes on James Potter.

He didn't look at all surprised to see her arrive, and instead of looking irritated offered her a smile. "He'll be fine, as per usual," James reported. "He'll just be tired and probably fairly grouchy for a while. He's always grouchy after a full moon,"

"I can't imagine why," Sirius said sarcastically, rolling his eyes at James who made a face back at him. "You imagine trying to tear yourself apart every month. Tell me how you feel about it,"

Camellia frowned at the words, wishing Remus didn't have to go through the experience each month. He was too kind and far too young to deal with that kind of pain. He didn't deserve it, and she wished there was something more she could do to help him. But there was no cure for lycanthropy, and there wasn't a great way to help during the night when Remus was a wolf. Camellia wanted to do something, but there weren't good solutions. "It helps, you know, you being here," James said quietly, seeming able to read Camellia's mind.

"Excuse me?"

"He'll be happier, waking up and seeing you," Sirius explained to her. "He loves seeing you, and he never shuts up about you really. I mean, it's always ' _Camellia this_ ' or ' _Camellia that_ '. I'm almost sure he-"

"Sirius," James said warningly, glaring at his friend. "He doesn't mean that, not really," Sirius made a face at James but didn't say anything else on the subject. "You two are really close, aren't you?"

Camellia nodded suspiciously, and looked at James curiously. "Why?"

"Just curious," James said dismissively. "I just think it's cool, a Slytherin and a Gryffindor. It doesn't happen often these days,"

"Well as of right now they've decided I'm hardly qualified to be a Slytherin, so it's probably not as impressive as you think," Camellia states, and the boys frown. "With what they consider a Slytherin these days, I'm not overly offended,"

Camellia hoped that would end the conversation, because as much as she adored Remus she felt odd talking to his friends. It was easier with Sirius Black, because they understood each other more, but James' cheery attitude made her uncomfortable most of the time. And it reminded her more of Max, which she didn't need. Peter Pettigrew just didn't seem to like her much, though Camellia couldn't think of a reason why that would be. Maybe that was just how he was though; she didn't know him well enough to be sure.

To her surprise the boys actually let her sit next to Remus in peace after their short exchange. While talking may have been better because it would have distracted her, Camellia had no desire to participate in a conversation about quidditch. James was apparently very nervous for the upcoming quidditch match, though Camellia had a feeling the Gryffindor team would be fine. They were actually really good, though she didn't care enough about quidditch to keep track of where the quidditch cup was currently going to.

By the time Remus started to wake up, Sirius and Peter had started an intense staring contest which involved a lot of laughing and awkward faces. James had tried to get them to behave, and he kept saying that if their laughing got too loud they'd surely be kicked out and none of them wanted that. He seemed like an exasperated parent, in Camellia's opinion, though once or twice she caught him doing something to make Sirius lose. It was actually fairly entertaining to watch the friends interact, and Camellia couldn't help but to stare as Sirius lost yet another round.

There was a loud groan that made everything stop though, and at once Remus' friends were staring at him intently. It was then that Camellia noticed a long scar on his left arm, and a shorter but thicker one on the side of his neck. "What happened?" she whispered, staring at Remus in concern with the boys.

"Last night was rough," Sirius explained without taking his eyes off his friend.

" _Why_?"

"There have been a couple of… _instances_ , lately, that have gotten him upset. When he's upset it's like the wolf feeds off it, and he's more aggressive than usual,"

"How do you know that?"

"We've been his friend for years," Peter said, "You pick up on important things like that,"

Camellia nods, feeling a bit stupid for not realizing that. "What was it that upset him?"

The three friends shared a look before turning guilty eyes to Camellia. "It… Well as of late it's stuff that involves you," Peter said, for once sounding like he didn't dislike her.

" _Me_?" Camellia asked, feeling as though the boys were playing some sort of joke on her. "What have _I_ done?"

"Nothing, that's the thing," James explained slowly, raising a hand as if to tell her that he didn't mean any harm. "It's stupid people saying stupid things about you and Max, and what happened, and about your older brother. Remus has been hexing people to get them to stop, and three days ago Professor McGonagall threatened to take away his prefects badge if he didn't stop,"

"What...What have they been saying?" Camellia asked before Remus groaned again and shifted slightly on the bed.

"Just… things," Sirius said, obviously unwilling to tell her the truth. "I don't think you'd really like to know, and Remus wouldn't be happy if we told you and you were upset by it,"

Camellia frowned, but didn't press about the issue because Remus let out a string of words he didn't often say. "Is he alright?" Camellia asked quietly.

"He's waking up already," James muttered, sounding annoyed. "He's exhausted but stubborn and because we have an exam in Charms on Monday, he's unwilling to miss class. Bloody stubborn idiot; I told him to stay in bed and that we'd bring him notes,"

"You're not...exactly reliable," Remus mumbled, and all eyes snapped back to him again. His own weren't open, and his face looked pained, but there was the hint of a smile on his lips. "I'd get a sheet of doodles,"

"Well I could have taken them for you," Camellia states, frowning again. Sure she'd been falling behind in class, especially since Christmas, but if it was for Remus she would have done it.

It's her voice that makes Remus' eyes open, and instead of pain there's fear on his face. The expression makes her heart drop, and she can't help but wonder what it is he's afraid of. She understands when he moves a hand to rub his left arm nervously, and shifts his head so she can't see his neck. "What are you doing here?" Remus asked, sitting up and yawning. "It's early,"

"It's early. Why are you awake?" Camellia retorted, and Remus frowned.

"I'm not letting this take over my life any more than it already has. I missed a few classes yesterday, and I won't do it again today,"

"Even though you're still hurt," James said quietly, rolling his eyes. "I still don't like it, Remus. We'd make sure you didn't miss anything,"

"I'm going," Remus said stubbornly, a defiant expression on his face as he looked at his friends. Camellia sighed and folded her arms across her chest, knowing that her friend was stubborn and didn't like to take what he considered to be handouts. "I just have to get out of bed first,"

Remus' friends laughed, and Peter pointed to a stack of clothes at the end of Remus' bed. "We'll give you a minute, yeah?"

Remus nodded, and Camellia stood to give Remus a moment of privacy like his friends. "Can… Can I talk to you, for a moment?"

Remus' friends looked irritated, but they shuffled out anyway and left Camellia standing by the edge of Remus' bed. "Is everything alright? I'm sorry if you didn't want me here, but they told me they thought it would be a rough night and that I should come to be here when you woke up,"

"No, of course. I'm glad you're here, I… I just wanted to check and make sure you were okay,"

"You- _what_?"

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Remus said again, looking worried.

"I-You're kidding me, aren't you? Please tell me you're not serious right now,"

"Of course I'm serious. There have been people talking about Max," he said carefully, as if he'd know how upset that would make her. She didn't like people talking about her brother, especially now that he was dead. "Some have been saying they were going to ask you about him, and if they had I wanted to make sure you were okay,"

"They've managed to hold back so far," Camellia said, frowning at him. She wouldn't be happy if someone asked her about Max, though she was sure she could be calm enough to kindly tell them to leave her alone. Or not so kindly, depending who they were and how politely they asked. If it was one of Max's friends she would definitely talk about him, no matter how much talking about Max upset her.

"If anyone says anything, let me know alright? I'll take care of them,"

Camellia rolled her eyes, but smiled at Remus anyway. "I'd rather you not lose your badge, Remus. Your friends told me what Professor McGonagall said. You should just let me handle that kind of thing," Remus' face clearly told her that he had no intention of doing that, but Camellia decided not to comment on it. "Just be more careful about this kind of stuff, okay? They told me you were upset and that's why you had a bad night and I hate to think it's my fault,"

"Your fault? It's not your fault, Camellia. It's those people, not you. And this whole thing is my problem, not anyone else's. Don't worry about it,"

Remus stood, picking up the clothes at the end of his bed and holding them to his chest. He smiled at her, and Camellia frowned back at him. "You're one of three people I have left to worry about. Sorry if a little more of that shifts to you, but you're the one who ends up hurt once a month, and sick for a few days before and after,"

"Don't worry too much,"

"I didn't worry enough and Max ended up dead," she retaliated, and immediately looked down at her feet after saying the words. "I shouldn't have said that,"

"You can say whatever you want, Camellia, but Max wasn't your fault," Remus said quietly, taking a tentative step in her direction. "He'd want you to know that, Camellia. Max adored you; he'd never say it was your fault. Not even for a minute,"

Camellia nodded, not really believing her friend but unwilling to tell him that and upset him. "I'll leave you to get ready then," she said, straightening her tie and touching her bun with a slightly shaking hand. She didn't know why she suddenly felt nervous, but if she had to guess it was because she was lying to Remus. "See you in class?"

"Of course," Remus said, smiling at her.

Camellia hurried out of the hospital wing then, waving awkwardly at Remus' friends as they waved at her. She went straight to the great hall and took her seat at the Slytherin table, where Regulus soon joined her. Not long after she saw Remus and his friends walk in, and Remus looked exhausted and sore but he was still smiling. He caught her eye and sent a smile in her direction, so Camellia returned it immediately. When she looked back at Regulus she found him smirking. "What?" she asked innocently, which made Regulus let out a quiet laugh.

"You're obsessed, Cam," he muttered, though he didn't look at all upset like she would have thought. "You know, Sirius always liked him. Not the way you do, but he always said Lupin was good,"

"He talked to you about Remus?" she asked, ignoring the part about the way she liked Remus. She didn't feel like getting into that, especially because Regulus would laugh when she denied feeling anything other than friendship for the kind Gryffindor boy.

"Before everything happened, yeah," Regulus said, his voice falling quiet as memories slipped into his mind. Camellia understood, because that happened when she thought of Max. "Yeah, after he started he sent letters back to me, and tried to convince me to try for a house other than Slytherin like he did. He said I'd be happier, but I knew the best way to be happy was to please our parents. If I didn't I'd end up running like he did, and I wouldn't have as many people to go to so I'd probably end up just going back to them. This was easier,"

Camellia nods, and knocks her shoulder gently against her friends. "You know if you just talked to him…"

Regulus shook his head quickly, and glanced at the Gryffindor table where his brother was sitting and laughing. "He understands, I think. Sometimes anyway,"

"He's worried about you, Reg," Camellia said quietly so the other Slytherins wouldn't hear. "It's not too late to change your mind and run, you know. You don't have to do what's expected of you,"

"I know, Cam, but my parents… They have to have one kid to be proud of, and while it should be him it's apparently going to be me. I know it's stupid, because it's not right, but I don't want to disappoint them,"

"Just don't-" She was cut off by two owls landing at the Slytherin table in front of her.

"Expecting some mail, are you?" Regulus asked, chuckling as Camellia reached for the letter closest to her. It looked to be written on much nicer parchment than the other, and as she opened it she learned why.

"You've got to be kidding me," she mumbled, reading the words with widening eyes.

"What is it?" Regulus asked, trying to read the words over her shoulder.

"It's… Do you remember Christopher Nithercott?"

"Of course I remember Christopher. The girls in my year adored you two together. They said you were cute or something, though I don't know where they got that idea,"

"Thanks, Reg," Camellia said sarcastically, before shaking her head. To be honest she didn't understand where that idea would have come from, because they hardly even acted like a couple. "Did I ever tell you that he ran off with a muggle girl? Well, apparently Christopher would like me to attend their wedding this summer,"

"He _what_?" Regulus asked in shock.

"I know," Camellia said, laughing softly. "I have to go though, don't I? I mean it would be rude to be invited and just not go,"

"Cam he's technically your ex, do you really think it's a good idea?"

"Well we never really wanted to be together, and he was always really nice… He added that I'm allowed to bring someone,"

Regulus tore the invitation out of her hand and stared at it before he let out a loud laugh. "Apparently I'm not the only one who thinks you and Lupin have something more than friendship going on. Did you even read what he wrote? _'Feel free to bring the Lupin boy, as I'm sure you two have started at least locking lips-Oh, my fiancée says I'm not supposed to say that because it's "crude, Christopher, be nice to her" but I'm sure you understand._ ' Please, I'm begging you, show this to Lupin and just see what he says,"

Camellia shook her head immediately, snatching the letter back. "If I have any say, Remus will never see-"

At that moment Remus' friends erupted with laughter, and every eye in the great hall turned to look at them. Remus was staring in horror at a piece of parchment, and Regulus turned to look at Camellia. "You don't think Christopher would have sent Lupin a letter as well, do you? To make sure you brought him?"

"I certainly hope not," Camellia said, though it wouldn't surprise her if that was the case. Christopher had never really been the best with making appropriate decisions. Remus' friends were suddenly all staring at her, so Camellia was fairly certain what Remus was reading was similar to what she and Regulus had just read. "Well that's fantastic," she muttered, feeling her face warm almost immediately.

"You know, you've still got one more letter to open," Regulus said, and Camellia remembered the other owl sitting in front of her. The one from Christopher had already flown away. Camellia nodded, about to make some snarky comment about how she already knew that there was another letter despite the fact that she'd forgotten it was there. This one actually was a letter, and Camellia could hardly believe her eyes when she saw who it was from. "What is it?"

"Oh, um, Remus' mother sent me a letter,"

"Lupin's mother wrote you?"

"Apparently, but I...I can't imagine why,"

Camellia chose to ignore Regulus and read the letter instead. It was fairly short, and Camellia realized that she was basically getting scolded for not having written yet. Remus' mother wanted to make sure she was okay, and to make sure Remus was okay as well. Camellia didn't know why she couldn't ask her son that question, but Camellia wasn't going to complain about getting a letter from her. Camellia liked Remus' mother; she was a very kind woman.

That night, Camellia found herself once again wandering the corridors with Remus at her side. He didn't have rounds that night, as Lily and James both knew he wouldn't be feeling up to it, yet he still made the effort to come out and walk with her. They went a little slower than usual, but neither minded. Camellia ended up brushing her fingers against Remus' a few times, though she was holding both of the letters so she didn't actually grab his hand as she had been doing. "I'm hoping you didn't get a note like this?" she asked, handing him the invitation she'd received to Christopher's wedding. She'd told Regulus she wouldn't let Remus see it, but she wanted to know if Remus had received anything like she had, and she figured the best way to find out was to have him read it. It was embarrassing, but her curiosity won out.

Remus immediately turned a shade of red and nodded. "He, um, wanted me to make sure you didn't back out. He wrote something similar about our...activities,"

Camellia laughed softly as Remus glanced at her awkwardly. "Why he'd think that is beyond me," she stated, watching Remus shrug. "But… If I were to go, would, um, would you want to accompany me?"

Remus looked surprised, but he quickly nodded. "I'll spend as much time with you as I can," he said, and then turned a worse shade of red.

Camellia smiled widely at him, pleased with the outcome of that question. She still had to decide if going was her best option, but she at least knew she'd have a friend at her side if she chose to. And, as Remus walked her back toward the Slytherin common room when Camellia started yawning, she was half sure she'd always have him.


	26. Chapter 26

As February faded into March, and then March into April, Remus grew increasingly worried about Camellia. It seemed she just didn't care about school anymore, and she didn't have much of an interest in history. He'd seen her fixing a history essay that had received a 'D', one of the worst marks imaginable. She'd never received anything below an 'E', and the worst part was she didn't even seem to want to do better. She'd just stared at the essay and asked the professor what the problem was. N.E.W.T.S. were coming sooner rather than later, and if she kept this up she'd fail them all and would never get a decent job. Remus knew that wasn't the most important part, but if it were him he would be panicking.

Remus wanted to talk to her, to try and make things better so she'd be happy, but he didn't want to overstep and end up making her angry. It wouldn't be the first time he'd said something to irritate her, and Remus would rather not do it again.

He was excited to meet her today though, as it was their last Hogsmeade visit before everyone would get serious about studying for N.E.W.T.S. Camellia had seemed ready to get out of the castle and get some fresh air. They sometimes went on to the grounds, but Remus knew that wasn't as freeing as going around a town and having fun.

Remus was walking down to meet her by the entrance to the castle. His friends had decided to accompany him, stating that they wouldn't allow him to wander the castle alone. Remus had argued, because he wasn't a child, but Sirius and Peter were flanking him on either side, and James and Lily were walking behind them and whispering. For a while after they reached the entrance, they waited in Camellia's normal spot. But once the entrance had started clearing out and kids had gone running off to the small town, Remus started to get worried. They'd promised to meet each other, but what if she'd changed her mind?

It was Sirius who decided to go investigate the corridors of the dungeon. He dragged them all, claiming they were going on an adventure and acting excited while Remus could tell even he was slightly worried. Remus wasn't sure what had changed, but Sirius had seen his brother smile and laugh with Camellia and he'd started to pay more attention to the Slytherin he'd once hated. They didn't talk much, but Sirius smiled at her sometimes.

Their group was fairly loud as they wandered through the dungeons. But they were always loud, so no one really cared. But then, there was a new source of loud noises, and some bangs as well. Remus and his friends all looked alarmed, and hurried to see what was going on. When they arrived at the source of the noise, Remus was surprised to see Severus Snape's wand at Camellia's throat. There was a younger Slytherin, maybe a fourth year, that was grabbing Camellia's arm and trying to pull her back. The kid looked terrified, and Remus was sure Camellia hadn't been quite as angry in a long time.

"- _Do it_ ," Camellia said, passion in her eyes that Remus was sure he hadn't seen since Max had died. "Go on, Severus, do it. Show me what they taught you, yeah? Show me who you really are,"

"You know _nothing_ -" Snape said coldly, and Remus was half sure he was only acting like he was because he was surrounding by his friends. On his own he'd never really tried to go after Camellia, or at least he'd never tried to use his wand on her. But he pressed his wand into her throat further, and Remus was prepared to run over and stop it. "You filthy little blood traitor, you know nothing about what I am. You made the wrong choice, you-"

"Oh look at that," shouted one of the Slytherins behind Snape. "Come to save your stupid girl, have you?"

Suddenly there were eyes on them, and everyone at the opposite end of the corridor looked surprised. "You alright, Norewood?" James called, taking a step forward so he was in line with Remus, Sirius, and Peter.

"Lovely, Potter," Camellia replied, an angry glare on Snape. "I don't need your help,"

"Right. Looks like you have this completely under control," Sirius said, sounding irritated.

For a moment Camellia struggled with the boy behind her, and then finally freed her arm and shoved him toward Remus. The younger Slytherin looked unsure, but quickly walked toward the group of Gryffindors. Lily held out a hand and the kid went to her, quietly accepting the hug she offered. And then Camellia seemed to forget they were there, as did the Slytherins in their year. Because she went back to glaring at Severus, and they went back to glaring at her, and then Camellia said, "You stay away from that boy, do you understand me? He's already terrified he'll end up like you, he doesn't need to be terrified _of_ you too,"

Snape rolled his eyes, frowning at Camellia and holding his wand steady. Remus again wanted to jump in, but now Sirius was holding his arm to make sure he wouldn't. Despite his remarks he seemed sure she could handle the situation on her own. "That boy is a coward, doing what he's done. There's honor in our choices, and he's choosing some kind of easy out. It would be better if he'd just-"

"Don't you _dare_ -"

"-and the only example you want to leave him with is what, Potter? Black? Stupid little Pettigrew? Or that monster you're infatuated with?"

" _Remus is not a monster_ -"

"He is, just like his stupid friends and _you_ ,"

" _Me_?" Camellia asks, surprised. "I haven't done anything, and-"

"You killed your brother, you made it so that they could find him. It should have been you, if you'd moved over an inch, but you killed him. _You_ -"

James and Sirius couldn't hold Remus back any longer. But before he could even do anything, Camellia had pulled her fist back and landed a solid punch to Severus Snape's nose. The greasy-haired boy yelped and dropped his wand, stumbling back as Camellia swore loudly and cradled her hand. Not even a second later one of the other Slytherins had pulled their wand out and shouted, "Impedimenta!" and Camellia went flying into the wall behind her. She let out a long scream as she went flying that made Remus' heart pound in his chest. He couldn't understand, at first, why Camellia sounded so afraid. But then he remembered the story about her parents, and how afraid of that spell she actually was. And then Remus and his friends were hurrying over with their wands raised, prepared to defend a girl they didn't know particularly well. Or like very much.

Before they could even do much of anything, Professor McGonagall came running through the corridor, shouting for everyone to drop their wands. She looked furious, which didn't surprise Remus very much. But no one would ever go against Professor McGonagall, so there was a loud clatter as wands dropped to the floor. The only person who didn't drop their wand was the fourth year, who instead clutched it tighter. "What do you think-Miss Norewood are you alright?" she asked, seeing Camellia sitting against the wall with a dazed look on her face. "Mr. Snape, your nose is bleeding,"

Snape glared at her, but didn't say anything. Camellia stood up, shaking her head slightly as she finally looked at Remus again. Her eyes were slowly becoming empty again, which was a sight that made Remus frown. But she was walking toward him then, and then past him toward the younger Slytherin. She pulled the younger boy into a hug, and immediately started whispering to him. Remus couldn't hear what she was saying, as Professor McGonagall was shouting too loud about how disgraceful their behavior was, but he could tell that the younger Slytherin had watering eyes. He hugged her back then, as tightly as Remus figured he could, and then ran off before Camellia walked back to Remus' side.

"Everything okay?" Remus asked, deciding not to listen to the scolding anymore. "What just happened?"

"They were picking on that poor boy," Camellia whispered, her eyes full of fury again. "They were picking on him because he didn't want to be like them. I can't _believe_ them, when they know what he's doing to himself…" She trails off, shaking her head slightly.

"And what made you punch Snape in the nose?"

Camellia blushed and shrugged, which made Remus crack a grin. "He insulted you, and then he said that Max…"

"Camellia," Remus said softly, the grin fading away. He isn't sure exactly what to say, because what can one say to that? But then he decides to go with, "You know that was one of the best punches I've seen in a while," Camellia laughed loudly, looking almost like she wants to hug him for the comment alone.

"He wasn't expecting it, nor was I expecting for it to hurt my hand so much. I never thought I'd be punching Severus Snape, to be honestly. I expected it to be one of your friends, when I finally got to it. Not him. I spent too long trying to get people to leave him alone,"

"People change over time, I guess," Remus said sadly, and Camellia nodded slowly. She knew that better than anyone, as her brother had done a complete flip in personality. Then again, with Snape it was probably Lily who knew how quickly he could change. Remus took an opportunity to glance at Lily, who he could tell was trying very hard not to look at her old friend.

For a while they just listened to Professor McGonagall scold them, because technically Camellia had been involved in the fight as well, and Remus and his friends weren't willing to leave her. But eventually Professor McGonagall dragged Snape away, convinced that he was the instigator, and claiming that she'd track them all down later to possibly give out more detentions.

The other Slytherins send glares at Camellia, but she ignored them and tried to stay as close to Remus as possible. Remus' other friends turned to her once the Slytherins were gone, and Sirius still looked mad. The anger made Camellia nervous, Remus could tell, but she held her ground and stared at Sirius defiantly. "Do you have a problem, Black?" she asked, and Remus smirked slightly at her tone. Sirius had used it plenty of times before.

"With them, yeah. You alright, Norewood?"

The surprise on Camellia's face made Remus laugh, and Camellia glared at him angrily. "I-I'm fine, thank you," she said, watching Sirius suspiciously. "You don't have to pretend to-"

Sirius shrugged, and flashed a smile at her. "You're Remus' friend," he said, and Camellia raised an eyebrow. "Besides, you're not as awful as I thought,"

Camellia made a face at him, but soon Remus found that she was smiling slightly as well. "You're not too bad yourself," she stated, and then turned to Remus, frowning slightly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get involved in something and make us late,"

Remus shrugged and smiled at her, before glancing at his friends. James had an arm around Lily's shoulder and he seemed to know that seeing Snape had upset her. Sirius and Peter were watching, looking slightly awkward because they knew James and Lily were together, and they knew how Remus felt about Camellia. And the smile she was giving him now, and the way she'd stationed herself so close to his side just made him feel hopeful. Maybe one day she'd have feelings for him, though Remus doubted it. The thought of being a monster crossed his mind once again, but was quickly expelled when he saw James grinning widely at him. "What's that look for?" he asked, directing his attention to James, who's grin widened.

"Lily wants to know if we can all just spend the day together. She wants a chance to get to know you, Norewood, among other things,"

Remus looked to Camellia for an answer, as he wasn't sure if she'd want to spend the day with his friends. And she did look apprehensive, but apparently she also knew how much Remus enjoyed spending time with his friends because he found her slowly nodding. "You four are sure you want me around?" she asked nervously, though she was containing the nerves well because his friends didn't seem to notice.

"Of course we want you around. Right, boys?" Lily asked, smiling brightly at Camellia. Remus' friends all nodded, willing to follow Lily's wishes because the knew she was willing to chide them if they were rude to Camellia.

And that was how they found themselves wandering through Hogsmeade, Camellia slightly awkward at first but soon warming up to his friends. Remus was surprised to see that it was Sirius she got along with the best, and she matched his wit whenever she could. Remus was pleased to see her eyes not looking quite so sad as they often were.

Eventually they left the village, and Camellia parted ways with the Gryffindors at dinner. Remus was incredibly pleased with the outcome of the day, because he was convinced that his friends could get along with Camellia now and they could all spend time together. He was hopeful.

After dinner that night, Remus manages to convince Camellia to sneak away with him, and he leads her out to the grounds. It's a chilly night, which makes Camellia scowl, but Remus quickly pulls off the sweater he'd worn that day and handed it to her. He had a long sleeved shirt on underneath, and it was chilly to him as well, but the surprised blush on her face made it worth it. She seemed less sure when Remus stopped at a tree, and when he urged her to start climbing up, she frowned. She did it, but complained the entire way up which made Remus laugh at her. But eventually they reached the top, and settled into seat-like area in the branches.

"Remus what are we doing up here?" Camellia asked eventually, staring at the darkening sky in confusion. Remus assumed she didn't spend a lot of time outside for fun.

"I didn't realize it would be so cloudy," Remus muttered. "I thought we could stay out here and look at the stars, because they're nice this time of year, but I guess this is for nothing,"

Camellia hesitated for a moment before she shook her head. "I might have a solution," she said softly. Camellia performed a tricky charm that Remus didn't know, and all of the sudden the clouds above them had parted, and Remus saw nothing but stars. She may have complained the entire way up the tree, but she seemed relaxed now. For nearly an hour they just sat in silence, observing the beauty above them. But finally Camellia asked, "Do you think...Do you think he's up there somewhere?" in a small, timid voice. And finally, it seemed, they were going to actually have a conversation about Max.

"Maybe," Remus said softly, his fingers twitching as he refrained from taking her hand in his own.

"I'd like to think he'd be a star," she continued. "Shining, making people smile at how amazing he is... That just feels right to me,"

"Then that's what we'll believe," Remus decided, and he saw her eyes slowly fill with tears. She cried then, silently, something he expected she'd done countless times. Remus did take her hand then, providing the smallest amount of comfort that he could.

"How did this all happen?" she whispered when she calmed down. "Everything was perfect, and then… Then those people came and killed my parents. Vaughn went crazy with revenge and fear, and I turned a blind eye because I thought he'd snap out of it. And now...now Max is dead, for no better reason than my shoulder not being an inch over. I just...It's not right. He was so happy, so amazingly vibrant and caring and…"

"Sometimes," Remus said softly. "Sometimes bad things happen to good people. And you and Max are some of the best I know. There's no reason for it, and Max died because some people wanted to spread terror. But I don't think they'll win, not in the end,"

Camellia shook her head slightly, and sighed. "I won't let them," she stated, frowning. "They ruined Vaughn, and they killed Max. I...I'll fight against them, with everything I have,"

"And I'll fight with you," She looked surprised at the statement so he added, "I loved Max too. He was like family, or at least that's what I thought of him. I won't let them get away with hurting my family,"

"Is that how you think of me?" Camellia asked curiously, subtly changing the subject. "Like family?"

Remus could see why she'd think so. Still, he thought it best to tell her the truth, so he shook his head and tried to ignore the hurt in her blue eyes. "You're different," he clarified, realizing that this was dangerous territory. "What I… What I feel for you isn't the same as what I felt for Max, or what I feel for my friends. It has some of the same qualities, but it's just...different,"

"How?"

For some reason, Remus didn't think telling her, _Well, I don't have the urge to date or kiss my friends,_ but he didn't think that would go over too well. "It's more, u-um, more, I guess, intense? In some areas. And less in others. It's...odd,"

"Odd," Camellia repeated, sounding slightly amused. "Funny, I feel oddly about you too,"

Remus was tempted to ask what odd meant to her, but he held back and simply gave Camellia's hand a squeeze. They sat in their tree for a while longer, watching constellations they'd learned in Astronomy. Finally Camellia yawned, and Remus helped her down and walked her back to her common room.

He couldn't help but to wonder if her odd feelings were the same as his.


	27. Chapter 27

Camellia found that she was very uncomfortable being with Lily Evans and Sirius Black. Then again, she didn't think all of Remus' friends would be any better, because they wouldn't prod _politely_ , and would just bluntly ask a bunch of things Camellia really didn't want to think about. They were kind boys, sure, but a little off-putting to people like her.

To be honest, she couldn't even remember how she'd ended up with Lily and Sirius in the first place. She'd been in the library with Regulus, and the next thing she'd known Remus' friends had come wandering over. James and Peter had left soon after arriving, but Lily and Sirius had stayed behind. There'd been a large amount of conversation, including how to keep Remus away from the table in the library, and then the two boys had just gone running. Lily and Sirius didn't look like they were going to be rude to her or anything like that, but Camellia was still suspicious. They didn't exactly come up to her often, so Camellia wasn't sure what they were doing. "So," Lily finally said, making an effort to smile at Regulus as well, as he was sitting awkwardly beside her. "Camellia, we were hoping to talk to you about Remus, and yourself,"

Immediately Camellia looked concerned, though she tried to get rid of the expression. "Is something wrong?" she asked. "If he's done some stupid prank with you lot and gotten himself hurt…" She looked at Sirius then, who smirked slightly.

"He's managed to refrain from that," Sirius said, grinning. "We, um, actually wanted to talk about something involving the both of you,"

Her eyebrow raised and Camellia frowned. "What about the both of us? And make it quick, Reg and I are trying to study,"

Sirius glanced at his brother, for the first time seeming to notice that he was there. Regulus was looking down, and Camellia could tell how uncomfortable he was with the current situation. Regulus and Sirius didn't talk often, especially with their home life getting in the way of them truly being able to be brothers. She knew Regulus wanted to be closer to him, but she also knew why he prevented himself from doing just that. "We'll talk fast then. Besides, Remus will probably storm in here when he realizes we've cornered you,"

Camellia rolled her eyes and looked expectantly at the two Gryffindors at her table. "So what about Remus and I then?"

"We just… We just wanted to know what you thought of Remus," Lily said slowly, and Camellia frowned.

"He's fantastic. But you already know that's what I think of him. I think he's one of the best people I've met, and he's one of my best friends. Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Lily says, smiling slightly.

Sirius Black had a different story. "Because we know he's liked you for a while now, and-" Lily Evans smacked his arm as hard as she could, and Camellia's eyes widened farther than she thought they ever would. " _What_?" he asked, "You know you wouldn't be friends if he didn't like you,"

It was a nice recovery, though Lily seemed to know it wasn't exactly what Sirius had meant. Camellia felt herself relax slightly though, because she assumed she'd just jumped to conclusions. "I told Sirius not to come," Lily explained quietly, rolling her eyes. "He always says stuff like that. I, on the other hand, wanted to get to know you better. I mean, if you're Remus' friend then you'll probably spend a bit of time with us as well,"

"I...I don't tend to get on well with other-"

"Give it a shot, Cam," Regulus said quietly, sending her the quickest of smiles. "They're your future, you know,"

"Reg…"

"I should get going anyway," Regulus continued, ignoring her. "Plenty to do, you know? I'll see you later,"

Camellia sighed as her friend left, and with him gone she certainly felt less friendly. Lily was smiling at her though, and Sirius even had a pleasant look on his face. "There's...There's nothing much to tell you. Anything I have to say will bore you anyway,"

The Gryffindors shook their heads and launched into conversation. Camellia wasn't used to their questions, nor the way they smiled so brightly at her. Well, Lily smiled. Mostly Sirius Black smirked and made remarks about Remus that seemed like they were edging too close to an idea Camellia had certainly thought about, but had decided was too risky. She didn't want to damage her friendship with Remus in any way.

She felt as if she were under a microscope. Lily and Sirius just kept asking her questions, about preferences or her childhood, and she felt incredibly awkward talking to them about it. They weren't close, hell they weren't even friends, but they now knew things about her she'd only ever let Regulus. Anna, and Remus in on. She just didn't know how to refuse, and they were Remus' friends so he'd probably hear about it if she was standoffish.

But after they'd been making conversation for a good forty minutes, a very angry Remus Lupin was storming over to the table. Camellia had seen him angry before, but never really at his own friends. "Remus is everything-" Camellia started, but he held up a hand to silence her.

She didn't exactly take kindly to that, but also didn't mention it. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked, actually glaring at Lily and Sirius.

"We're just talking," Lily said innocently, smiling at Remus. She didn't look guilty, Camellia noticed, nor did look worried that Remus was mad at her.

"Yeah, we just wanted to learn a little more about our dear friend Cam," Sirius shrugged, grinning.

Camellia raised an eyebrow at the use of her nickname. "What happened to Norewood, Black?"

"The same thing that happened to hating you. It just disappeared, like... _poof_ ,"

She nearly laughed as he made a gesture with his hands, though Remus didn't look impressed. "You leave her alone, do you understand? I don't need you revealing everything; James told me what you wanted to say,"

"I wasn't going to let him say it, Remus," Lily argued, looking frustrated now. "That's why I came-and to get to know you, Camellia, honestly-because I knew you wouldn't want her to know,"

"Know what, exactly?" Camellia asked hopefully, wondering if they'd slip and tell her what it was she wasn't supposed to know.

"Nothing," Remus snapped, still angry. "Just go, would you? I don't need your help with her, believe it or not. What's happening works for us, I don't need you or James and Peter mucking it up,"

They looked like they wanted to protest, and they definitely did not seem like they wanted to stand up and leave the table. But finally Sirius stood and sighed. "We won't ruin this for you. Come on, Lily, better go tell those two traitors that we've failed," Sirius pulled the redhead out of the library then, and Remus practically fell into the chair across from Camellia.

"Do you want to explain what that was all about?"

Remus shook his head and sighed. "They're all idiots. They… They have this opinion, about the two of us, and I keep telling them to leave it alone but they think they know better,"

"What is this opinion?"

"It's a stupid one, that's all you've got to know," Remus said dismissively, sighing. It was then Camellia noticed he didn't exactly seem to be acting like himself. He seemed stressed out, and almost like he needed a really good nap.

"Remus, is something wrong?" Camellia asked, feeling silly for asking so many questions. He just looked at her, eyes tired, and shook his head.

"Everything's fine. I've been a bit worried lately about what I'm going to do after school, and where I'm going to live because I can't go home-"

"Don't be silly. Of course you can go home, Remus, your parents aren't going to kick you out or anything. They adore you,"

Remus frowned at her. "As if I really want to live at home and bother them with my...my problem anymore. They're getting on in years, Camellia. I just want them to live in peace again. They don't need to deal with this anymore,"

"But they love you, Remus, they-"

"I'm just not going to do it anymore. I don't know how I'll afford going somewhere else, but I'll figure it out. It's just a bit stressful. And now I've snapped at Sirius and Lily, which I'll probably end up hearing about later, and-"

Camellia stopped listening about halfway through Remus' speech. She wasn't sure if he'd even like what she wanted to say, but his words had gotten her thinking. She had to have a place to go after school got out, and there was no way she could go back to Remus' house as she'd done that Christmas. She wouldn't go back to the family home either, because of her memories of the previous summer. And they were good friends, and if they both needed somewhere to go… "Remus," Camellia interrupted, and he looked at her in surprise. "What if… I mean you have nowhere to go and neither do I, so what if we just, um, lived together? We could get a nice flat, far away from the one where...but it could work, right?"

Immediately Remus shook his head, and Camellia would have never mentioned it again, had she not thought it was a good idea. "I can't...Look, Camellia, my family doesn't come from money. And I...It will be really hard to get a good job, in my condition. I just won't be able to afford to live in a flat that you'd like, or one that you'd deserve,"

"I don't need much," Camellia protested. "Just a room, one for you and one for me. Besides, now that Vaughn's in Azkaban there's no one other than me to tap into my family's money. I'm not saying let's use it all at once and buy a castle or something silly like that, but...But I could make payments on a flat. I could handle that myself,"

Again, Remus shook his head. "I won't take charity like that,"

"It's not charity, Remus, don't be stubborn. I'll have to live somewhere anyway, why not get something a little bigger for the both of us? Friends live together after school, a lot of the time. I bet Potter and Black are going to move in together,"

"But they're different than us, Camellia. They've been friends since first year and they both have money. I don't have that privilege,"

"You know as well as I do, Remus, that Sirius Black does not have a lot of access to his family's fortune. I've heard Regulus talk about what it's like for him,"

"But I… I won't be a burden to you, Camellia. You can get a flat, obviously, and I'll come visit you because I don't think I could go too long without seeing you, but...but it's just not a good idea. Besides, what are you supposed to do when I...when my problem acts up?"

"We'll figure it out," Camellia said, unwilling to accept his answer. "If money wasn't an issue, or you didn't have your problem, would you want to live together for a few years? To make things easier?"

Remus nodded slowly, and Camellia could tell he was disappointed in himself for letting that feeling show. "It would be perfect, I think,"

"Then why don't we try it? Maybe it won't work out, but let's just forget about those other issues for now and try to make it work. You never know, it could make us closer in the end,"

Remus seemed to contemplate her suggestion then, and Camellia hoped he'd at least give it a chance. " _If_ I say yes...And I doubt that I will because I refuse to put this on you, but _if_ I do, then I have to find some way to help pay for half of it,"

Camellia nodded, excited about the idea of living with Remus but knowing it would take a lot more convincing on her part. Now that it was in her head though, she knew there wasn't anything else she'd want to do.

With that line of conversation out of the way, and the awkwardness of speaking with Remus' friends having worn off, the two left the library and instead went to the classroom they often spent time in. As she often did when they ended up in the room, Camellia laid across a few desks and Remus ended up on the floor beside her. There wasn't anything serious they talked about, other than their upcoming N.E.W.T.S, but Camellia enjoyed the time nonetheless. She enjoyed any time with Remus, if she was being completely honest.

Eventually they had to leave for dinner, and as they walked down to the great hall they were stopped by a frowning Professor McGonagall and a nervous Professor Slughorn. Camellia immediately knew it was her they wanted to speak to, especially because McGonagall's eyes were pretty much glued to her face. "Good evening, Professors," Remus said smoothly, as Camellia hadn't said anything yet.

"Mr. Lupin," McGonagall greeted, and then turned her attention back to Camellia. Camellia fought to keep herself from fidgeting nervously. "Miss Norewood, Professor Slughorn and I were wondering if we could have a word?"

"I'll see you later, alright?" Camellia said, glancing at Remus who frowned at her. "Probably about my performance, am I right, Professors?" Slughorn gave a small nod and Camellia sighed.

She gave Remus a little push toward the great hall, and silently turned to follow McGonagall to her office. "Have a seat, Miss Norewood," Professor McGonagall said, and Camellia obeyed immediately. "Would you like a biscuit? They're made of ginger,"

"No, Professor, thank you," she said politely, and Camellia forced her hands into her lap. They were trembling slightly; the last time she'd had a ginger biscuit was the night Max had died.

"Miss Norewood, you already know why you're here," Professor Slughorn said, and Camellia could tell he was uncomfortable. It wasn't often he had these types of conversations and Camellia suspected that was why Professor McGonagall as there as well. "We...We understand that you've had a rough year…"

"A bit of an understatement, Professor," Camellia muttered, and then she blushed. She tried not to forget her manners in front of her professors, but she'd definitely slipped up then. "Sorry, you were saying?"

"Miss Norewood, I understand how difficult it can be to lose family the way you have," Professor McGonagall said gently. "But we can't allow this behavior to continue. You have to start trying in classes again, or you may have to repeat your seventh year. If you fail enough N.E.W.T.S you have to retake them, and we don't have a way to do that without having you repeat the year,"

Camellia nodded slowly. She understood the words, but she wasn't sure she cared. She didn't want to stay at Hogwarts for another year-why would she, without Max?-but surely as an adult she could refuse and drop out of school? But then, she realized something very important.

Remus would be disappointed in her. School was important to him and she knew he didn't like that she was failing and wouldn't let him help. If she failed the tests as well and had to stick around...He wouldn't show it, but she would know. And Camellia had an intense desire to never let Remus down, not again.

"If you need extra help, just talk to us. We'll find a way," Professor Slughorn said kindly, and he offered her a small smile.

"I...I'll try. I just…"

"You were managing an E in my class, before," Professor McGonagall said. "I have faith in your abilities, Miss Norewood. You just have to learn to apply yourself once again,"

The two professors talked to her for a bit longer, about strategies to improve her marks in classes and ways to get help if she needed them. Eventually, though, they dismissed her, with the last remark being from Professor McGonagall. "He was a good kid, Miss Norewood," she said, "Max is dearly missed in Gryffindor,"

And with that she was allowed to leave, though she thanked McGonagall for the words first. Camellia was prepared to go to the great hall and catch the last of dinner, but a corridor away she found Remus leaning against a wall and looking quite bored. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously, and Remus grinned when he saw her.

"I wanted to make sure you were okay," he said simply, and Camellia was surprised by the kindness in his eyes. "And I know I've offered before, but if you wanted help with school, then-"

"Yes," Camellia said quickly, nodding. "I...They've said I'd have to repeat this year if I failed enough things and I have no intention of doing that. You wouldn't mind, would you?"

"Of course not," Remus said. "I'd do anything to help you. Should we head to the library then?"

It wasn't exactly how she'd planned on spending her evening, but Camellia enjoyed it nonetheless. She had a lot of catching up to do, because she'd blown everything off for so long and just not cared. But Max, she thought, wouldn't want her to do that. And the pride in Remus' eyes when she would try made her feel really good.

From then on, Camellia began performing as she used to. She and Remus studied together when the got the chance, and when they needed to take a break from the activity they'd talk. Remus told her about his desire to be a teacher, but how he knew it would never happen. Camellia explained to him that she was afraid of losing more of the people she loved. And, on the rare occasions Remus was willing to talk about the subject, Camellia would pull out muggle newspapers Anna had given her. She and Remus would look through the sections on housing, and Camellia would further try to convince him to live with her when they were done with Hogwarts. Every time they talked about it he got more interested.

As her marks in classes went up, Camellia also decided to try and tackle working on the history textbook Professor Slughorn had suggested she write. Remus encouraged her when he found out she was working on it again, and would slip papers about certain important events into her bag when she wasn't paying attention.

It had been months, but Camellia felt she was slowly becoming herself again. She felt grief still, when she thought of Max, but was able to focus on happy memories of her younger brother as well. It wasn't perfect, she wasn't completely there yet, but she hoped Max wouldn't be upset with her for trying to put herself back together.

And the entire time, despite life getting progressively crazier as they began studying for N.E.W.T.S and Remus helped her continue to bring her marks up in class, and the growing tension among Slytherins that remained hidden to other houses, Camellia was almost sure she was starting to feel happy again. It felt wrong, sometimes, to be happy without Max. But Remus seemed to know exactly when she felt that way and would either tell her she was wrong, or find some way to send her a little note and a chocolate frog that never failed to make her smile.


	28. Chapter 28

It seemed that all of Remus' friends, and pretty much every other seventh year in Hogwarts had decided to spend the day lounging on the grounds. It was a Sunday in mid-May, two weeks before they were due to start N.E.W.T.S and everyone was breaking from the harsh amounts of studying they'd been doing. Even Remus had left his books in his dormitory, though his friends had had to coax him a bit. It was nice though, being outside with his friends. James, Sirius, and Peter were all tickling the giant squid while standing in the shallow water of the Black Lake. Lily was a ways away, laughing with some girls Remus didn't know too well.

Anna the Ravenclaw, Camellia's friend, was having a water fight via wand with some of her other friends. Remus couldn't see Camellia from his seated position against a tree, but he assumed she was out on the grounds as well. He'd guess she was with Anna, or the Hufflepuff she was friends with, but he wished she was beside him.

With all the time they'd spent together in the last month, he felt closer to her than ever before. He knew her fears, her hopes, her guilt about feeling happy, and she knew the vast majority of his secrets. And, she wanted to live with him. Remus wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that particular issue. While living with Camellia would be fun, and might bring them closer, he was worried it would actually make her grow tired of him. Remus wanted to remain her friend for as long as possible. Also, he refused to live off her money, and without a solid job he'd never be able to afford even a decent flat. He'd mentioned her idea to his friends and they were all for it, though when it came to Camellia they wanted everything to happen. His friends knew Remus had feelings for her, and they were trying to drop hints to her every time she was around. They also seemed to find her intriguing, for they kept trying to go up and talk to her, though mostly that was Sirius and Lily.

Remus closed his eyes, letting the warmth from the sun soak into his skin. He wanted to be with Camellia, to enjoy the peace together and just stay with each other. But he knew that was dangerous, so he frequently worried about her finding out and hating him for it. Those thoughts were always wiped away when she smiled at him.

It wasn't long before he heard footsteps approaching him. He assumed it was his friends so with a resigned sigh he opened his eyes. Before him was the wide smile of Camellia Norewood, and she was holding out a piece of parchment. "What's-"

"Read it," she said proudly. "I rewrote all of my essays for Professor Binns, and look at the top. I can't believe he actually took the time to write this, can you?"

Remus took the parchment, almost excited to read it because it had made her so happy. On the top were the words: _You're the most promising History of Magic student I've had. I look forward to reading your future works._

"Nearly seven years in his class and not a single word from him, and now this. It's...It's amazing, Remus, isn't it? Or...Or do you think it's just a thing he says to all of his seventh years, or-"

"No, it's definitely amazing," Remus interrupted, grinning at her. "I know how much this means to you; I'm really happy for you,"

"I thought you'd want to see it, since it's only happening because of you," She sounded almost sheepish, though Remus couldn't tell why. "I would have failed if you hadn't wanted to help me,"

"Of course I would have wanted to help you, Camellia," Remus said, scooting over slightly as Camellia sat down beside him. She rested her head on Remus' shoulder, which made him freeze for a moment before he quickly relaxed again. Remus felt her head shift, and he was pretty sure she was watching Anna with a fond expression on her face. Even though she'd neglected to spend a lot of time with the Ravenclaw because she'd been studying with him, but Remus knew she still adored Anna.

For a while they just sat like that, Remus beginning to wonder what it would be like if they could sit like they were every day, but then he heard a large amount of happy squealing from their left. Camellia sat up in an instant and looked around, and they quickly spotted Lily staring at them. Remus' friends, as well as Anna the Ravenclaw, were hurrying over and all wore wide grins. "So it's finally happened then?" James asked, smiling. "It's about time, Remus, we thought you'd never get around to asking her,"

"Ask-What?" Camellia asked, sounding confused. His friends didn't seem to notice the tone though, because they were all still smiling.

"A Slytherin and a Gryffindor, I never would have believed it," Sirius said, his smile as wide as James'. "Well, I mean if I hadn't seen the two of you together just then I wouldn't have believed it. Nice job finally working up the courage, Remus,"

"The courage-" Camellia began, but Remus' eyes widened.

"No! No, guys, it's not what you think, please just _shut up_ ,"

"Not-But did you see yourself just now?" Lily asked, sounding about as confused as Camellia.

"Remus?"

"Camellia it's nothing important, I promise,"

"Nothing important, sure," Anna the Ravenclaw said, rolling her eyes as she approached them and went to stand next to Camellia who was rising herself. Remus stood as well, looking nervously between his friends and Camellia. "I'm not even friends with him and I can see it, Cam. Ask him what he thinks of you,"

"Look I may not be incredibly smart like the rest of you," Camellia said, a hint of anger in her voice. "But you've all been dancing around something for a long time now. Remus, you always say it's nothing but if it keeps getting brought up then it must be something important. So you can either tell me what it is, or I just won't talk to you until you do,"

Suddenly, Remus' friends and Anna were all backing away. It was as if they knew they'd pushed too far and didn't want to deal with anyone's wrath when what Remus was forced into saying was let out. Remus really didn't want to say anything, because he knew how this would end. Camellia would call him a monster, say she hated him for how he felt, and never speak to him again. It was the opposite of what he needed in that moment, especially since he'd just been close to her. To be close and have her ripped away would not be good.

"Oh sure, back off now! Anna, we'll be speaking later!" Camellia called as her friend left, but Anna only gave a thumbs-up in response and continued to run away. Lily went back to her friends nervously while Remus' friends wandered back to the Black Lake. The giant squid was gone, so they just stood and glanced back at Remus and Camellia. "Remus?"

"It's going to ruin everything," Remus muttered, his gaze firmly on Camellia's shoes. "It's going to ruin everything which is exactly why I didn't want you to find out. And it probably won't even last, I don't...This is so _stupid_ , Camellia,"

"Remus just get it out, alright?"

He shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands, though Camellia seemed to ignore how uncomfortable he was. "It's...Since the start of our friendship last year, I seem to have developed certain...certain…" He took a deep breath, remembering his father's letter from when he'd first realized his feelings. If only, he thought, he had faith that Camellia wouldn't hate him. "Do you remember how I said I felt differently about you than I did about my other friends?"

Camellia nodded, frowning. "Is it a bad difference?"

"Not...You might see it that way," Remus muttered. "It's different because...because I adore my friends, you know that. And I adore you too, because you're my friend, but it's just…"

"This is a lot of dancing around the issue," Camellia said, and then offered Remus a kind smile. "I don't bite you know. Just say whatever it is you're so desperate to hide from me, Remus. I won't judge you,"

"The difference...what I feel for you, Camellia, it's more of a...romantic thing, not...not just friendship,"

Remus glances at her face, finally, to see it growing pale and shocked. "Y-You-You mean to say that you…" She can't even finish her sentence. Remus felt himself growing warm, and he looked down once again to stop the sensation from getting worse.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, knowing this would be the end of his friendship with Camellia Norewood. He felt so ashamed of himself, and he was mad that he'd chosen to believe she wouldn't be upset. He should have fought harder to not have to tell her anything.

"Remus-"

He shook his head and shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers. "You don't have to say anything, I already know," And before she can even manage to say his name again, he walks away. Not to his surprise, Camellia didn't follow. No, the footsteps following him as he walks into the castle most certainly belong to James. Remus wasn't really keen on speaking to his friends at the moment, considering he wouldn't have had to tell Camellia if they hadn't brought up once again that there was a secret he was keeping from her. "I'm not in the mood," he said shortly.

"Remus, mate, we thought-"

"I don't _care_ what you thought, because you thought wrong. And now everything's ruined with her. Happy, are you? You lot never liked her in the first place,"

"Remus don't be stupid-"

Remus can't control the anger that's building up in his chest. He can't help feeling like he's going to explode, and while it's bad he knows it will be James who gets the worst of his anger. "Sure, insult my intelligence now," Remus spat, turning around angrily to face his friend. "As if I needed that on top of her basically agreeing that I'm a monster and don't deserve to even have feelings,"

"Remus I'm sure she-"

"Do you honestly think I give a damn about what you think right now? Everything's ruined because you all couldn't keep your mouths shut. I'm perfectly capable of handling my own problems, James, and I believe I've told you that on multiple occasions. I'm not some bloody child you have to watch out for every five seconds!" James opened his mouth to respond but Remus shook his head so he'd stop. "I'm going to shout if this goes on any longer. I'll just...I'll see you later, I need...I need you all to just _leave me alone_ for a while,"

James looked shocked, but all that made Remus think of was the expression on Camellia's face, and that made him feel even angrier. Not at her, not even at his friends, but at himself. He had been stupid, to tell her instead of holding his ground and telling her no. He could have kept it a secret, because surely he'd been close to convincing himself that monsters don't deserve people like Camellia Norewood, but now that chance was gone. Now he had feelings out in the open that Camellia could spread around and make fun of, if she wanted to.

Remus ended up not speaking to Camellia for a good two weeks. If it upset her at all, she didn't show it and instead just sat at their usual table in the library. Sometimes Regulus Black joined her, and Remus was sure he'd been replaced. And he knew it was wrong to be angry about that, because he was the one who'd ruined everything and she had every right to put some normality back in her life, but it was still upsetting. He was embarrassed too, because he suddenly found himself jealous of Sirius' younger brother and the way he got to just sit by her and laugh with her.

He wanted- "Mr. Lupin, you're up," sounded from Remus' left and he jumped a bit in his seat. James looked concerned, Remus could tell because he'd turned around to look at him. It was the middle of their last Defense Against the Dark Arts class before N.E.W.T.S and they were practicing common spells that would come up. At the same time, half of the class was being exposed to some kind of creature or spell that they had to deal with. Remus was supposed to go up and demonstrate the Patronus charm, which he'd been able to do since the previous year. It wasn't the full patronus yet, but he was sure it was going to get there soon.

As he walked to the front of the room, he struggled to come up with a happy memory to use. Everything with Camellia felt tainted now, because she thought him a monster, and while he could use one with his friends he was still irritated with them. In the end, he chose the moment where Professor Dumbledore had made a trip to his home, and told him that he'd be able to attend Hogwarts like the rest of the wizards and witches his age. The memory ended up producing a weak, gray mist that made him turn a bright red.

"Can I-Can I do that again?" he asked, and the professor frowned. "I can do better, I know I can,"

"One more chance. I can guarantee class, that no one will find that impressive if they're observing your skills in Defense Against the Dark Arts,"

Remus' color worsens and he avoids looking toward the back of the room, where Camellia was sitting beside Anna. Camellia was a little cold toward her Ravenclaw friend, Remus could tell, but at least she was still talking to Anna. Camellia hadn't even tried to talk to him. Before he could stop himself, the memory in his mind was when he and Camellia had sat at the top of a tree together. And as he spoke the spell a creature popped out of his wand that made Remus' eyes widen.

After a large amount of praise from the professor, Remus went back to his seat with a surprised and frustrated look on his face. "Congratulations, mate," James said with a small smile. "A corporeal patronus, that's impressive,"

"It's a bloody _wolf_ ," Remus complained, forgetting for a moment that he was still a bit upset with his friends. "It follows me everywhere, doesn't it? I'm never casting it again, I hope you know,"

"Still, it was impressive," Sirius said with a small grin.

Remus rolled his eyes and grumpily turned to the front of the classroom, only to see Camellia walking up with an irritated expression on her face. She went right past him without even looking in his direction, and Remus sighed quietly. He'd never admit it to her or his friends, but he missed Camellia. "Ready to show us how to-"

"I'd rather not, but if I must," Camellia said, and there was a chuckle from Anna that had Camellia's eyes flashing toward her friend. The professor was a bit ruffled from the comment, but with a flick of a wand opened a cabinet in front of Camellia. In it was a boggart, Remus knew, but out of stepped...Camellia? Only she looked different, he noticed, and the real Camellia's face went pale.

The boggart was a copy of her, with its lips sewn shut and a dark mark clear on the pale skin of her left arm. She looked dirty, and her eyes looked crazy, and Remus could tell the image was unsettling to the girl he used to call a friend. "R-Riddikulus," she said shakily, and the image flickered and changed. This time it was Max laying on the floor, with eyes wide open. Camellia's hand started to tremble and her fists clenched in frustration. "Riddikulus," she repeated, her voice still weak.

And suddenly, Remus himself was at the front of the classroom. Eyes turned to him and Remus knew he looked confused, and he instantly felt bad as well. Camellia was afraid of him, apparently, and she had every right to be. Remus turned red for the second time that class, and avoided making eye contact with his friends. "Miss Norewood if you can't-"

" _Riddikulus_ ," Camellia said firmly before turning and walking back to her seat. She didn't wait to see if she'd properly taken care of her boggart, and instead went and sat by Anna again, who looked concerned.

"Remus, mate-" Peter tried, and Remus shook his head.

"She's afraid of me, of what I am," he mumbled, looking ashamed. "I…"

He didn't speak again for the rest of the class, and his friends didn't ask him to. When the bell sounded and they were done for the day, Remus grabbed his bag and hurried out the door. He wanted to go to his table in the library, to hear Camellia tell him that it didn't matter, but apparently she was afraid of him and he wasn't going to push his presence on her. But suddenly he heard a girl's voice call, "Remus! Remus wait, please!"

He slowed slightly, assuming it was Lily and she was going to try to comfort him. He'd take anything he could get at this point. But it wasn't Lily who rested a hand on his arm, and it wasn't Lily who said, "Remus I know that looks bad, but it's not what that meant,"

When he realized it was Camellia who was touching him, he drew his arm back as if he'd been burned. "I don't care and it doesn't matter. I'll see you-"

"Remus please," Her voice was pleading and it was so unlike her that Remus had to stop and look at her. Any trace of the collected expression she usually wore was gone, and she looked tired and sad. He wanted nothing more, in that moment, than to see her smile once again. "I know you've changed your mind, but what you said by the lake freaked me out. Please-Please don't run away like you want to, I have to say this,"

"No, you don't," Remus said, his voice almost sounding choked. "I know how you feel, that boggart just proved it. You're afraid of me, because I'm a monster. You have been since I told you that night in the hospital wing. You hid it well, you know? I was stupid not to see it earlier,"

"Remus let me talk-"

"No, Camellia. I don't...I...Have you any idea how hard this is? To turn into that _thing_ every month and tear myself apart and then have you, the first person I've really become friends with in six years, to have you afraid of me for something I have no control over…"

" _What_? Camellia asked, and Remus tried not to focus on the surprise on her face.

"That's why your boggart turned into me, and that's why...why when I told you how I felt, you looked at me and you were afraid,"

Remus watched surprise steal her features, and he was fairly certain his heart just stopped. Which wasn't a good thing, he knew, because it meant he still had a bit of hope when it came to her. "Remus, that's ridiculous. I don't care what you are, because it doesn't change you at all. Not the parts that matter, at least,"

"But then why-"

"Think about it," Camellia said, and Remus frowned at her. "Whoever I've been with has been decided by my brother. And Evan, well, he was awful and you know that. Christopher was using me, to get away from his family and marry that muggle girl he was in love with. First of all, you're one of my best friends. If I managed to screw this up, then I'd lose you. And I know I will, because I don't know what you'd expect of me, and I don't know what you'd want me to do to make you happy-"

Remus' eyes widened slightly. He hadn't thought that she'd have worries of her own, and he hadn't thought about what her experiences with relationships had been in the past. Camellia, he knew, had been raised being told that she had to do whatever she could to please her future partner, and that if she didn't please them the relationship would fail. She didn't seem to want to lose him as much as he didn't want to lose her. "I...Camellia if anything even happened, all I'd even want is for you to be yourself. That's who I like, not whatever person you pretend to be just to make me happy,"

Camellia looked at him skeptically. "But you're mad at me for-"

"I thought you were afraid of me. I'm sorry for snapping at you, it's just…"

"A touchy subject," Camellia said knowingly.

Remus looked at her gratefully, and nodded. "Did...Did you maybe want to go to the library? There's not much time left until N.E.W.T.S and we could study,"

"Don't...Shouldn't we talk about what you said?"

Remus shrugged and said, "How...How do you feel about me?"

"Similarly," Camellia said softly, and then added, "I don't want to because I know that I'll mess something up, but similar is a good description,"

"Maybe we just see where everything goes then?" Remus suggests.

Camellia nods then, and links her arm with Remus'. He manages a smile, a bit happier now that he's talk to her. He feels ridiculous for not trying to figure out why she'd looked the way she did earlier, but at least he knew now. And maybe it didn't come about the way he expected, but it wasn't too awful.

They spent the rest of the night studying in the library, and taking a small break to run down to the kitchen and grab some dinner. And it was nice, Remus decided, because now that his feelings were out in the open he felt less pressure.


	29. Chapter 29

For a moment, Camellia forgot how to breathe. She knew there was an in and out involved with it, but it wasn't coming. But then the knowledge came back, and Camellia took a slow breath. She was sitting for her last exam, History of Magic, and she found it exceptionally easy. Which, Camellia knew, was probably because she'd spent a lot of time with her nose buried in history books as of late, and she adored the subject. Her classmates were making quiet noises of distress, and Camellia wished she could just leave the room.

Because waiting outside the door was Remus, who claimed to have something exciting planned for when her exam was done. Camellia wasn't sure why he'd decided to have something planned with her instead of with his friends, but she didn't mind. Ever since Remus had pretty much been forced to admit he had feelings for her, she'd found herself more excited than usual to see him. She was nervous as well, because she knew how likely she was to screw something up, but at least she hadn't freaked out yet.

Camellia looked around the room, already bored. There were still twenty minutes left until the exam ended, but she'd already finished. Remus would be proud when she told him, because he was proud whenever she did well in class. Really he was proud whenever _any_ of his friends did well, though he refused to admit that to the Gryffindor boys. What was funny, to Camellia at least, was that all those boys felt the same when it came to pride and still wouldn't admit it.

Her eyes landed on Severus, who looked pale and nervous as he tapped his fingers on his desk. He was still scribbling in answers, though Camellia wasn't surprised. He and everyone else had always hated the fact that she was quick when it came to history. For a while she watched the boy she'd never particularly liked or disliked, but soon his eyes met hers and he scowled. Camellia sighed and ran her hands over her face, bored again.

Eventually time was called, and Camellia handed a man her test and quickly stood and hurried from the room. She didn't want to get caught by Severus, who sometimes made comments about Remus when he thought he could persuade Camellia to leave her Gryffindor friend. It would never happen, she'd never leave Remus because she knew Remus would never leave her.

When she exited the room, Camellia found Remus sitting a ways down the corridor on the floor, a book in his lap and a small smile on his face. He noticed her before she reached him, and turned the smile to her instead of the book. "How'd it go?" he asked, standing up and sending his book off with a wave of his wand.

"Not awful," she answered, and then added, "I'm going to change before we do whatever you have planned, okay? I'd rather not stay in these robes for the rest of the day,"

"Fair enough," Remus said, and together they walked to the dungeons so Camellia could run to her dormitory. On the way they discussed Camellia's history exam, though Remus was mostly lost because he hadn't taken History of Magic for the last two years.

When she met him for the second time that day, she was dressed far more comfortably than the school robes she'd been required to wear during her exams. Remus looked irritated this time though, and Camellia was immediately worried she'd taken too long and irritated him. "Did I-"

"Snape and Rosier wanted to have a word with me on my relationship with you," Remus explained, the irritation in his voice. Camellia raised an eyebrow, frustrated that the boys in her year thought they had any right to decide who she had in her life. "They're still under the impression, I think, that you can be persuaded to be evil,"

"You never know, Remus. I could be fooling you," Camellia said, smiling at him.

He rolled his eyes and hooked his arm with hers. "I doubt that," he said, leading Camellia to an often forgotten corridor. She looked at him in confusion and he pulled a cloak out from behind a statue before tapping the head with a wand and muttering a word she didn't catch. "Remus what-"

"I'll explain, but you have to climb in," he said, a passage appearing before Camellia's eyes. She hesitated and looked at him skeptically, but Remus looked excited so Camellia sighed and followed his instructions. "We're breaking the rules," Remus said as they were enclosed in a passage.

"Remus there's two days left of school, do we honestly need to break the rules?" Camellia asked, and Remus looked disheartened.

"We...We could go back, I guess," he said, and Camellia sighed once again.

"No, it's fine. Watch us get expelled with two days left, but it's fine. As long as you promise me chocolate,"

"Somehow, I think that can be arranged," Remus said with a nervous smile.

Camellia smiled at him in return before the began a walk through a tunnel, chatting about how the exams had gone for the tenth time. They were both nervous, and didn't want to end up having failed everything. Camellia had confidence in Remus though, because he was as bright as anyone in Hogwarts. He said the same about her, which made Camellia roll her eyes and knock her shoulder into his gently.

When they came out of the passage, Camellia realized that they were in the basement of Honeydukes. " _Remus did we just break into_ -"

"No, well, kind of, but my friends and I do it all the time. The owners know us,"

Camellia stared at him and shook her head slowly, wondering how Remus and his friends had gotten close enough to the owners of Honeydukes so they would be allowed to sneak into their basement. The two snuck upstairs and Remus stopped to buy her a chocolate frog, which made Camellia hit his arm gently because she knew she could have bought it herself. He just sent her a crooked grin and placed it gently in her hands, saying, "I told you there would be chocolate,"

They spent a great deal of time wandering around Hogsmeade, talking about whatever came to mind. At some points, Camellia found herself able to tell Remus small stories about Max. He liked to hear them, she knew, and it was getting easier to talk about her little brother and remember the goofy smile that had always decorated his face.

And as the afternoon hours grew later, they wandered closer to the edge of the small town. Camellia looked back in the direction of the castle occasionally, wondering why they weren't heading back when they were obviously going to miss dinner if they didn't hurry. She wasn't sure about Remus, but she was getting fairly hungry herself and the chocolate frog Remus had bought her earlier hadn't helped too much, despite the tastiness of the treat.

Finally, Camellia decided to ask, "Remus? Shouldn't we be heading back? Your friends are going to miss you at dinner, and I wouldn't mind eating myself,"

"Yeah, I know. I figured you'd get hungry. There's just….There's something I'd like to show you,"

"In...At the edge of Hogsmeade?"

Remus turns a light shade of pink before he shakes his head. "In London,"

"Well we'll have to wait until-"

"It's just, I told them I'd bring you this evening, and I wouldn't want to let them down…"

"Remus what's going on?" Camellia asked, a little suspicious of how he currently sounded.

"Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Camellia, do you trust me?"

"You know I do," she said slowly. "But what's this about?" Remus grabbed her arm and Disapparated, and Camellia didn't even have a chance to protest. " _Bloody hell, Remus Lupin_ -" she shouted as they landed in an alley. "What do you think you're doing? You can't just take me away from Hogsmeade and Hogwarts, that's like kidnapping!"

"If I told you we were going to London for an hour or so, would you have come?"

"No, you idiot, I would have stayed at school where-"

"Camellia, I want to show you something,"

" _Really_ ," she huffed angrily, glaring at him. But Remus was _smiling_ still, and Camellia looked at him warily. "What was it you wanted to show me in an alley in London?"

"Follow me," he said, and with that Remus set off through London streets, grabbing Camellia's hand and pulling her along. She made angry noises when people ran into her, though for the most part it wasn't too bad.

Eventually they stopped in front of a short building, and Camellia looked at it with a raised eyebrow. "What are we doing here?"

And then, a woman came hurrying out of the building, and Remus walked right up to her, pulling Camellia along with him. "Mrs. Jones?" he asked, sounding more polite than usual. "My name's Remus Lupin; I wrote to you about the flat?"

"Remus?" Camellia asked, tugging on his arm lightly. She wanted to know what was happening, especially because Remus looked oddly happy.

"Mr. Lupin, of course, a pleasure to meet you in person," the woman, Mrs. Jones, said excitedly, taking Remus' hand and shaking it firmly. "And is this your friend you mentioned? What was your name again, dear?"

"Um, Camellia, ma'am, Camellia Norewood," she said, looking at Remus in confusion.

"Right, well lovely to meet you, dear," Mrs. Jones smiled, and then gestured toward the building. "Let's take a look at this flat then, shall we?"

"Flat? Remus-"

"Surprise?" Remus offered, and they followed the woman into the building.

Camellia couldn't believe that not only had Remus wanted to bring her to a flat, he'd apparently been looking at many of them because Mrs. Jones kept saying how glad she was Remus had picked this one.

The flat they walked into wasn't exactly fancy, nor was it an absolute mess. And Camellia decided almost immediately that she loved it. There was awful brown carpet on the floor, and the kitchen was relatively small. But there were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and anything else they didn't truly need. Mrs. Jones was talking it up as best she could, though she stayed in front of a few stains on the walls.

And finally, Mrs. Jones left Remus and Camellia in the living room to talk about what the thought. Camellia turned to Remus with wide eyes. "When did you do this?" she asked, and then added, "Remus, how did you line this up? Do you have… You never even told me you were definitely going to...So you want to live together?"

"Do you still want to?" Remus asked nervously, almost as if he thought Camellia would have changed her mind.

"Of course I want to. I just...I didn't realize that you were looking yourself. And...And this is _perfect_ , honestly. We could make it amazing, you and I. Can we afford it?"

Remus nodded, looking relieved. "I managed to find a job. It's in the muggle world, and it doesn't have great pay, but I'll make enough to cover my part of rent. And my father, against my will, already said he'd put a down payment on it if we wanted it. I...They don't have the money, but I'd find a way to pay them back. We could make it work, if you wanted to,"

Camellia stared at Remus for a moment before she threw her arms around his neck. "You're amazing," she said quietly. "And tell your father he doesn't have to do that, Remus, I can make the payment, I've got enough money,"

"It...That would be…"

"I'll take care of it," Camellia said again, releasing Remus and smiling at him. "Should we tell this woman that we'd like to look into renting the flat?" Remus nodded, and the two hurried to talk to Mrs. Jones.

And before long, they were landing back in Hogsmeade, the sun already gone behind the clouds. Camellia could see a few stars shining, and the moon was peeking out as well, but other than that it was relatively dark. Once again, they hooked their arms together and wandered toward the castle. Camellia had half a mind to ask what today meant for them, if it was even something special, but she decided against it in the end. She didn't want to say something and ruin things with Remus, and she was absolutely terrified of doing that.

They separated upon entering the great hall, Remus heading off to sit with James, Sirius, Peter, and Lily while Camellia headed for the Slytherin table to sit with Regulus. She still felt like smiling, because she was going to get to live with Remus and there was a plan for after Hogwarts, but she managed to contain it because she didn't need others turning attention on her.

Throughout the meal, Regulus and Camellia chatted easily about their exams, as they'd both had them this year. Regulus was worried about his, as he had to pass everything so his parents wouldn't punish him, and Camellia simply wanted to pass hers as well. It was mostly for herself, to prove that she could, and for Max and Remus as well because they'd both be proud of her.

Going to bed that night, Camellia couldn't help but think about the fact that her time at Hogwarts was coming to an end. She'd spent nearly seven years of her life in the castle, and now she was just expected to leave and have no desire to come back? Hogwarts was currently the only home she had, as her family home held too many memories, and there was nowhere else she'd really lived besides the flat with Max.

That night, she couldn't sleep. There was a little less than a week left at school, and after that she'd start a life of her own. It definitely wasn't one her family would have picked for her, but surely her parents and Max would have liked it at least? They would have known that she was happy, and that would have been all that mattered. Vaughn, on the other hand, was in Azkaban, and probably didn't care what she did either way. At least not anymore.

The next day was a free day for all students. The professors usually took the day as an opportunity to finish up grading, and students usually ran around the grounds and played games. People used the quidditch pitch as well, and Camellia assumed that would be Remus' friends who claimed it. Which would, of course, irritate Regulus because he actually loved playing quidditch and refused to play on the same pitch as the Gryffindor boys unless it was an actual match. He would probably end up staying with his friends and doing whatever they tended to do with their free time. Camellia had stopped paying attention, because she knew Regulus' friends and she figured she wouldn't like what they did.

And Anna, Camellia thought, would probably spend the day obsessing about her N.E.W.T.S like she did the day after they finished O.W.L.S. Camellia figured she would spend her day trying to contact Gringotts and switch some money into the muggle kind so she could make the first few payments on the flat she and Remus had decided to get. She was still thrilled about it, and hoped everything would work so they didn't ruin their friendship or do something equally as awful.

After a while of laying in bed and trying to fall asleep because she was fairly tired, Camellia decided to get dressed and head up for breakfast. There, she avoided Anna waving her over because she knew exactly what would happen if she approached the Ravenclaw table. She chose to sit at the Slytherin table alone, and was glad when people decided to ignore her presence. But then, Camellia felt people sit down on either side of her, and she glanced to her left to see Evan. On her other side was another of his friends, and a glance down the table showed her Severus, who was alone as he tended to be.

"Can I help you?" Camellia asked, irritation clear in her voice. She didn't like the idea of either of the boys approaching her.

"Your brother's just gotten the news, Norewood," Evan said with a smile. It looked wrong on his face, especially because he never smiled like that.

"What news?" Camellia asked, not wanting to talk about her brother at all.

"About his status with, well, you know," Evan's friend added.

"I don't actually care what his status is, so if you could leave me alone-"

"He won't be allowed back in. All of the followers we've lost to Azkaban will be broken out eventually, and when they are he'll be taken too. And, you know, you can't just be kicked out and get off without punishment,"

"What, exactly, are you trying to say?" Camellia asked.

"Looks like there will only be one Norewood left when this is all over," Evan's friend grins.

But then, Evan shakes his head. "No, looks like there won't be _any_ Norewood's left when this is over,"

Camellia's eyes narrowed at the obvious threat, but didn't react in any other way than to say, "Thank you for that delightful piece of information. But as I still don't care what you say, I'd appreciate if you could stop your noise and leave me alone,"

The two boys refused though, and continued to make comments on Camellia's safety, and Vaughn's as well. She wanted to get up and leave, but figured that would look weak and decided to stay in her place and try to ignore them to the best of her ability.

What ended up stopping them was when hands slammed down on to each of their shoulders. All three Slytherins turned around in surprise, to see Gryffindors behind them. "You're looking mighty uncomfortable, Cam," Sirius said, using her nickname as if he had ever right in the world. "What seems to be the problem?"

"There's no problem, Black," Camellia said, wondering how James and Sirius had managed to get over to her table without Remus telling them to leave her alone. But a glance at the Gryffindor table told her that Remus wasn't even there.

"So it's these two then, yeah?" Sirius asked, ignoring her statement.

"I would guess, Padfoot," James said, grinning widely.

"What are you two doing here, anyway?"

"I believe I've said it before, but you're important to Remus and therefore are important to us," Sirius stated, sending Camellia a quick, genuine smile.

"Anyway, Cam's going to come with us now, and if either of you have a problem with that, well, we've got some backup if we need it,"

Evan and his friend obviously did have a problem with it, but Camellia stood up without them saying anything. And then she walked away, getting halfway to the Gryffindor table before she stopped and said, "Look, that's really not necessary. I don't need you two hanging around and-"

"Surely you don't mean that," James said. "I mean, you're going to live with Remus. You should know we'll be over all the time,"

"How did you-"

"Please, Remus was rambling about how excited he was all night. Peter threw countless pillows at him, but he still wouldn't shut up. We finally got him to sleep around three this morning," James said. And Camellia couldn't help but to smile.


	30. Chapter 30

Remus' mother was crying. Which, he thought, was a bit over the top but at least she was happy. Over the moon, actually, because Camellia was with him and if his mother loved him, she adored Camellia. Remus had managed to convince her to stay with his family until it was time to move into their flat-six days and eleven hours until they could start moving in, not that he was counting-because that way they could plan for furniture and other essentials. Remus' things from his current bedroom were going to end up in his next one as he didn't think he needed new things. Camellia, on the other hand, would have to buy some because she refused to return to her childhood home.

She'd insisted that Remus go out with her to buy the furniture, as she claimed the action would be too boring on her own. Remus hadn't protested, as any time he spent with her lately was spent happily.

They were lucky enough to have the ability to paint their walls, and Remus, who'd always wanted to but had never gotten around to it, was thrilled. They would have to pick out colors when they were out as well. Camellia had even agreed to paint the muggle way, though she insisted on no green anywhere. It had colored her walls at her family home and she'd grown sick of it. Remus was half sure it was also because green was the color of the curse that had killed Max.

"Look at my two," his mother said, hugging Remus tightly before turning to Camellia and doing the same. "All grown up and done with school-you two are amazing,"

"Mrs. Lupin-" Camellia began, but his mother cut her off.

"Hope, dear. Call me Hope,"

"Hope," Camellia said, turning a light shade of pink. "Honestly, it's Remus you should be proud of. He's the one who made sure I had passing marks this year. Without him I would have had to repeat it,"

"That's my boy," she said proudly, trying to pat Remus' cheek.

"M-" he started, but almost immediately people were shouting in their direction.

"Oi! You lot!" It was Sirius, who was being released from a hug from Mrs. Potter. "Going to come say hello, Moony, or are you going to finally _make a move_ -"

"Shut up, Sirius!" Remus was red now.

"Oh, go on. Let's say hello," his father said. Remus looked at him in surprise, as his father didn't tend to enjoy staying at the platform very long. But he seemed to understand that this was the last day before everything started to change. James and Sirius were moving into a flat of their own in a few weeks, and Lily was going to look for one of her own. The only one who wasn't really changing was Peter, who'd decided to live with his mother for a while before he moved out.

Remus led the way to his friends, who greeted him with warm hugs before forcing Camellia to hug them as well. And then Remus' mother hugged his friends, and James' mother hugged him, before turning to Camellia and smiling. "And who are you, young lady?"

Camellia looked at Remus nervously before saying, "Camellia Norewood, Mrs. Potter, if I'm correct?"

"And you're Remus' girlfriend, right? You'll treat our boy correctly?"

" _Mother_ -" James said, turning red. "You're not supposed to say that, they're not together yet,"

" _Yet_ ," Sirius muttered, smiling slightly as Camellia turned red as well.

"Sirius Black," she muttered, and he rolled his eyes, throwing an arm over her shoulder and grinning.

"Don't pretend you don't love me,"

"I don't,"

"Oh, right, it's Remus you-"

" _Sirius Black_ -" Camellia says, shoving Sirius' arm off her shoulder. "Don't start,"

"Don't like it's not true,"

"Maybe don't bicker," James said, and both Sirius and Camellia looked at him with raised eyebrows. "What? You two sound like siblings, bickering like that,"

"Oh please," Camellia said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like that. We don't even like each other that much,"

"You wound me," Sirius said dramatically. "I thought we loved each other,"

"Sirius, leave her alone," Mrs. Potter chided, though she was smiling. Remus just shook his head, watching his two friends in amusement. He was fairly certain the two would either become the best of friends or they would murder each other. Both options were fairly likely, and would probably be entertaining to watch. He didn't think they'd actually hurt each other. "The poor girl looks frightened enough, being around you lot. Give her a break,"

"But Mum-" Sirius protests, and Camellia lets out a smile that Remus notices immediately. He isn't sure why that is, but he's glad to see it.

"No but's, Sirius," Mrs. Potter said, shaking her head and putting her arm around Sirius' shoulders. "You be nice; isn't that what we taught you?"

Sirius mutters something under his breath but smiles at Mrs. Potter, and everyone else smiles at the kind woman as well. James nods dutifully and kisses his mother's cheek. For a while Remus and his friends chat and his parents do the same with James' parents, before they all headed out. Remus gave the platform one last look before he turned away and walked into Kings Cross Station with Camellia.

They spent the next few days mostly hanging around the house, reading or, for Camellia, obsessing over history books so she could try to write her own. A couple of times they went to Diagon Alley, and Remus surprised her with ice cream. Camellia, to his delight, told him it counted as a date. She'd gone red after saying it, but Remus had just smiled at her.

They'd also gone out to go furniture, which had taken an entire day and a lot of return visits to stores. Camellia had no idea what she wanted, which Remus found amusing, though eventually she'd figured something out.

And then, a week after they'd finished Hogwarts, Remus woke up to see boxes stacked up in his room. He'd never really known what he would do after Hogwarts, or where he would go, but being able to stay with Camellia made him feel secure. She wouldn't just up and leave him, because she cared about him. Besides, she'd said they'd been on a date. Surely that meant they were on their way to being a couple?

Breakfast was a bit tense, as Remus' mother was crying quietly. But she was happy for him and Camellia, and she had apparently spent the entirety of the previous night cooking dishes for him and Camellia to take with them to their flat. Remus' friends and Anna the Ravenclaw who, Remus was told, was a bit scared because of recent attacks by Death Eaters and had gotten herself into a rushed engagement with her boyfriend, were coming to help them move. They'd send Remus' things over with a spell and Camellia had managed to convince the shops to give her floor models of the furniture-Remus suspected a Confundus charm had been in play-so it was being delivered that day as well.

Camellia and Remus went to their flat early, having been given keys the previous morning and spending the morning painting the walls. They were allowed to do crazy colors, but the light color they'd picked had been approved. They'd spent the previous day painting and then Camellia had cast a spell so it would be dry and ready to go by the next morning. Remus' friends and Anna met them at the flat, and they all looked fairly happy. The afternoon was spent laughing as they unpacked, and Camellia had been thrilled to see pictures of Remus as a little boy that his mother had somehow snuck into his things.

James and Sirius did most of the heavy lifting, and Sirius had continued to make comments about how he was touching Camellia's bed. Which always made Camellia turn red, and had made Remus glare. The others had just laughed and helped to unpack lamps and trinkets. Camellia had less than Remus, though someone had sent a few things to her that she claimed came from her family's home.

By the time the day was over, the flat looked perfect to Remus. He couldn't believe he'd managed to live in a slightly nice place, and it was all because of Camellia. Without her, he was he never would have even looked for the flat. He wouldn't have been able to afford it without her, and he wouldn't have seen the point in getting his hopes up.

That night, he and Camellia ended up deciding which position was best for reading on the couch when they wanted to read next to each other. It still felt a bit silly to Remus, reading with someone else, but he enjoyed any activity with her. Camellia made normal things seem fun. And when she was with him, Remus felt like maybe his condition wasn't quite so bad after all. Because like his friends, Camellia didn't see him as a monster. She thought he was just a regular person. And one that she wanted to be with.

Not long after they moved in, Remus started working at a muggle store. It wasn't exactly the job he wanted, but it was nice and he got a free book each week. He'd probably bring some home for Camellia, because she also liked books. And as he started working, Camellia would come into the shop and bring him lunch when he had a lunch break. He thought it was nice, and on the rare occasion they got to eat lunch together, they ended up having a really good time. Camellia called those dates too.

Remus wasn't entirely sure if that meant they were together, but maybe it meant they would be soon. He adored Camellia, and hoped everything would work out with her. He hoped he wouldn't let his fears of his condition get in the way of being happy with her. Because he was, and everyone said he deserved to be happy so maybe the whole thing was supposed to happen.

One of the only changes in their lives after leaving Hogwarts was when James and Sirius talked him into going a meeting. He wasn't sure how they'd found out about it, but he quickly found himself joining the fight against You-Know-Who along with his friends. The only person who hadn't joined it yet was Camellia, though Remus was half sure she'd find out about him joining and demand to join up as well. But Remus wasn't sure he wanted her to. He'd gone out a few times, and had a few run ins with Death Eaters, and it was dangerous and terrifying.

As the summer dragged on, it got closer to the date of Christopher Nithercott's wedding. Camellia had sent a note to say she was coming and bringing Remus with her, and Remus was just glad she wanted to go with him. On the actual day of the wedding, Remus struggled a bit with what to wear. He'd originally dressed in the nicest pair of wizarding robes he had and Camellia had stopped him, still dressed in a sweater and trousers, and said, "It's a _muggle_ wedding, Remus. His fiancée's a muggle; we're some of the only people coming that have magical abilities. You need a suit,"

Remus stared at her, and made irritated noises on his way back to his bedroom. He'd spent forever trying to find the robes, and now he didn't even need them. But he found a slightly shabbier suit to wear, and much of the rest of his morning was spent sitting on the couch reading as he waited for Camellia. She ended up in a pretty purple dress, that went nicely with her hair. Or at least he thought it did. She'd even left it down instead of in its customary bun, which Remus thought looked nice as well.

The wedding itself reminded Remus of his older cousin's on his mother's side, who'd been married four years previously. Camellia sat quietly through it, and she smiled slightly when she saw how happy the couple was together. Christopher seemed to absolutely adore his new wife, and even though Remus had never particularly liked him, he was still happy for the old Slytherin.

After the wedding, they had to stop and greet the couple on their way out of a church. Christopher's wife, Maria, threw her arms around Camellia when she introduced herself, and whispered her thanks for pretending to be with Christopher so he wouldn't have suspicion fall on him. Christopher hugged her as well, and then turned to Remus and asked, "Finally gotten together?"

Camellia rolled her eyes, and Remus turned red. He wasn't sure what to say, but he didn't want to offend Camellia in any way. But then she said, "Yes, Christopher. We have, in fact, gotten together. Thank you for putting it so nicely,"

Christopher laughed loudly and said, "Good for you two, then. When did that become official?"

"Just now," Camellia stated, and she sent Remus a nervous smile. He smiled back. It was definitely a good thing; she had no reason to be nervous about it.

"Isn't that lovely," Maria said, smiling. "Just...Thank you again. And thank you so much for coming,"

"We'll see you at the party," Christopher winked, and Camellia rolled her eyes and pulled Remus off to the side.

"Are you okay with what I said?" she asked, sounding nervous still. "It just slipped out. I know we haven't talked about it yet, but I thought… I mean in my opinion we've been on a few dates lately, if they count to you too, and I think that's enough to consider us together. If you disagree…"

Remus shook her head immediately and nervously took Camellia's hand in his. She smiled at him. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one who had feelings for you first. Why I'd have a problem with it is beyond me,"

There wasn't much of a discussion on the topic after that. They danced at Christopher and Maria's reception, and Camellia laughed as she showed Remus how to dance and he stepped on her feet. He was red for most of the reception because he was pretty sure Camellia would have bruises on her toes when they got home. But she didn't stop trying to teach him, and by the end of the night he'd gotten the hang of the most basic of step she'd tried to teach him.

After the wedding, things went back to normal again. Well, as normal as Remus assumed they could be with everything going on. Remus' job at the book shop was going well, but he isn't sure he'll be able to keep it for a long time. His boss seemed to be getting suspicious of his many scars, and Remus was expecting questions he couldn't answer soon enough. But he'd just have to find another one as quickly as possible so he could keep up with rent. Not only that, he was starting to be sent on missions for the fight against You-Know-Who, which had him turning up late at night and completely exhausted.

He managed to keep the secret of the Order of the Phoenix for a good few weeks before Camellia found out. Remus had known she was growing suspicious because of the late nights, but he'd thought he'd come up with pretty good excuses. He hadn't even thought that Camellia would decide he'd started seeing someone else. So when he came home one night around three in the morning to a Camellia with red-rimmed eyes, he was very surprised. But finally that argument had ended when Remus had revealed his secret.

She was upset when she found out. Camellia had demanded to know if he thought she wasn't trustworthy because she'd been a Slytherin. Remus had assured her that wasn't the case, and then they'd argued about why he hadn't told her his plans. In the end he'd revealed that it was because he'd been worried she'd get hurt, and Camellia had lost her anger to a small smile and the words, "Don't you think I'd be hurt worse if something happened to you and I didn't know?"

They'd spent the rest of their night on the couch, each reading their own book and sitting close to each other. Remus thought he could handle this, if this was as far as their relationship ever went. Because just sitting next to someone he cared so much about was the kind of life he wanted to have.

About halfway through the month of July, James and Lily announced that they were getting married. Remus and Camellia weren't really surprised, because there was a war getting started around them, and James and Lily were completely head over heels for each other. Remus was a bit surprised though, because they were still so young and they were already planning on getting married. Sure it was a year or so off, but it was going to happen. He knew their reasons, though. James and Lily were both in the Order of the Phoenix, and they were both worried that any mission could be their last. They would rather be engaged to each other and hurry to get the deed done before they died.

Remus didn't like to think about that fact. He didn't like to think that his friends would start dying because they'd become soldiers in a war. He didn't like the thought that Camellia might die, because she planned on joining the Order as well.

Those thoughts pulled them all closer for a while. Every now and then they would go to Sirius' flat-James had moved in with Lily instead, though Sirius had still needed a place to live-and they would laugh and remember the times when life wasn't quite so hard.

And some nights, his friends would come to their flat and they would play games. Lily and Remus introduced them to quite a few muggles ones that they loved to play, and that Camellia seemed to have a knack for. And for a while, they'd forget that they could die the next day because there were people after them all.


	31. Chapter 31

Having a relationship with Remus Lupin was far easier that Camellia had ever thought it would be. She'd expected him to make demands and to want her to do everything for him so he could just laze around all day, but it was the exact opposite. Remus went to work and often times if she was cooking something in the kitchen he would come and help her. There were easy smiles and laughs, and Camellia had never seen a relationship involving someone like her turn out so well. Sure her parents had loved each other, but even then there had been a certain level of formal that had to be around.. All Remus really wanted was for her to be honest with him, and if she started sounding too formal and rehearsed he'd pry more until he got to the bottom of whatever emotion had plagued her.

Like most relationships that day, things went fairly quickly. Normally Camellia would have waited a few weeks before telling anyone that they were dating, but soon after they'd started Remus' friends had found out. And of course they'd been excited, because for some reason they'd decided long ago that Remus and Camellia should end up together. She thought, quite frankly, that they were being silly about it but it was still nice. Anna had been excited to find out as well, and Regulus had managed to sneak her a letter before his mother had stopped his ability to send them to her. She missed her friend, and hoped the summer wasn't too harsh for him.

But neither of them seemed to really mind the quickness of the relationship, and in truth they were just happy to be together. Or at least Camellia was happy to be with him, because Camellia was fairly sure Remus was someone she wanted to stay with for the rest of her life. The thought made her nervous, as most did that day, but excited at the same time. She often caught Remus saying similar things if she walked in on him talking to one of his friends.

He was gone now though, off on a mission for the Order of the Phoenix with James and Sirius. Camellia, who'd joined only a week ago, hadn't been assigned to do much of anything yet. But she was at home, Lily on her couch nervously talking, and Anna there as well. Camellia wasn't used to spending the night alone, and Anna had stated that any time she was needed, Camellia could write to her and she'd come. She hadn't expected Lily Evans to show up at her front door, a nervous wreck. Apparently she got that way every time James was sent off, and she hadn't had anyone to go to before.

Camellia didn't think Lily a great friend of hers, though she did know that Lily Evans was probably in the running for being the best person in the world. Meaning, of course, that Camellia couldn't just send her away and focus on her own fear. They were only a week away from the next full moon, and she'd seen him looking pale lately. She was always worried when it came to Remus and the full moon, especially now because James and Sirius weren't going to be there. They had another mission scheduled that day, which they'd tried to get out of been Remus had stopped them. He'd said he could go back to his parent's house, where there was a room they could contain him in.

As the night dragged on, the three girls decided to run to the store and grab some food while Lily popped back home to grab a few games they could play while they waited. It was actually quite a pleasant night, eating sandwiches and trying to beat each other in whatever game they decided to play. It went on until Anna passed out on the sofa, exhausted as it was nearing midnight. Sure they were still young, eighteen or so, but they felt older. They were in the middle of a war, after all, and two thirds of the people in the room were soldiers in it. Anna hated violence, and wanted no part in any of what was happening.

After Anna went to sleep, Lily curled up in an arm chair and fell asleep herself, but only after Camellia had assured her that the boys would be fine. She was getting worried herself, because they were supposed to be back in the early morning. Remus had thought it would be closer to three. And Camellia, having decided that three hours wasn't too much more time, sat on her bed in her room and started working on her history book again. She had started actually writing it, and only Remus had been allowed to read the first few chapters. He claimed it was the best thing he'd ever read, but Camellia knew he was exaggerating.

The hours seemed to flow together, and soon enough it was three. Camellia quietly walked out to the living room, past the two sleeping girls, and opened the door to look around. There was no one there.

For the next five hours, until the others woke, Camellia looked out the door every hour. She had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, and had no idea why Remus would be so late. He'd promised that he'd be back before breakfast; they were supposed to have a breakfast date to celebrate his safe return.

Lily looked close to tears when she woke up and found that James wasn't there to greet her. Anna looked concerned, simply because she knew how much Camellia cared about Remus.

And then it wasn't the night that was dragging on, it was the day. Lily was stuck halfway between wanting to go out and find the boys herself, and getting other Order members to go out so she could wait for him. Camellia was beginning to think on similar lines. But she managed to convince Lily to wait until that night, when it had been a whole day, and then they could go out and look. Camellia felt uncomfortable just sitting around the flat and waiting.

It was mid afternoon when the door to the flat slammed open, and everyone jumped out of their seats. Camellia was terrified, for a moment, that it was the Death Eaters and they'd been found, but then she noticed Remus' sandy hair and the matching black-hair of James and Sirius. "Where the _hell_ have you three-" Lily starts, but then she stops cold. Camellia stops too, and stares at a dark red blotch on Remus' shirt.

"What is that?" Camellia asked quietly, pointing at the red. It's then she notices that Remus looks even paler than he had recently.

"We got stuck in a fight," Sirius explains, leading Remus to the sofa and laying him down. "They were everywhere, and we...we tried to get out and when we did we apparated, but Remus got splinched and we only managed to end up popping up outside the gates, where more of their people were coming in, and-"

"Sirius stop talking," Lily instructed, and with a wave of her wand Remus' shirt was gone. Camellia turned a light shade of red, because she'd never actually seen Remus without that piece of clothing on. "I had Madam Pomfrey show me some basic healing spells before we left Hogwarts, and I think...Camellia do you have any Dittany?"

"I...I'm not sure, we-" After a second, Camellia hurried to the bathroom to check the cabinet and see if there was anything they could use. She'd seen the hole in Remus' side, and the slow trickle of blood adding to the coating on his stomach. Her hands were shaking; she couldn't remember them shaking since Max had died.

There wasn't any Dittany in the cabinet, so Camellia hurried back out. Remus was wincing as Lily's wand pressed into his side, and Camellia winced along with him. She shook her head when Lily looked at her, and Anna finally piped up and said, "I'll run to Diagon Alley and get some, okay? I'll be back in a moment," And with that, she Disapparated.

"How can I help?" Camellia finally asked, taking a step closer to Remus. He was watching her, not speaking, but he tried to smile at her. It ended up as more of a grimace, but it was still there. And it was such a Remus thing to do, trying to make her feel better when he was the one who was hurt. It reminded her of how much she cared about him, and how lucky she was to have him.

"I think Remus would quite enjoy you holding his hand or something," Lily said, and Camellia nodded and took a step closer to him. He reached out for her, and Camellia realized that his hand was stained with red. She grabbed it anyway.

"You know I'll be alright," Remus said quietly, flinching as Lily once again bumped him with her wand.

"You know I'd probably kill you myself if you weren't," Camellia mumbled, and Remus tried to smile at her once again. "What happened?"

"Splinched," Remus muttered. "As they said. Maybe… _possibly_ hit with a few spells that increased damage, but I'm fine,"

"Explains the flinching," Camellia said dryly. "Can you help him? I…" She trailed off as she looked at Lily, who'd gotten Remus' stomach cleared of blood. She'd done her best to heal the wound, but they all knew that Dittany was their best bet to actually heal it all the way. But when Camellia had looked down, she'd noticed scars on his chest. For a moment Camellia forgot where they came from, but it hit her very quickly. "Oh my-"

Remus grabbed a blanket from the back of the sofa and pulled it over himself, turning red. "I...I didn't want you to see that," he said softly.

Before Camellia could respond, there was a pop and Anna was back in the living room. "They charged me an arm and a leg for it," she grumbled, handing it to Lily. "It was my mistake, though. I shouldn't have mentioned that someone had been hurt and I needed it immediately,"

"We'll have to teach you, then," Sirius told her, and he pulled Anna into the kitchen to explain how to best get prices lowered by those working in shops. Lily applied the Dittany to Remus' wound, and Camellia watched as it started to heal itself.

"Thank you boys for terrifying us," Lily said, taking James' hand. "First you show up late, and then Remus is injured. Next time send a _bloody_ patronus message," She pulled James into the kitchen after Sirius and Anna.

Which meant that Camellia and Remus were the only ones left in the living room, and they sat in silence for a few moments. But then Camellia nervously asked, "Are you doing okay?"

"I'm fine, I told you," Remus said, with a small smile. "Better with the Dittany; we should keep that on hand,"

"If you ever come into this flat again, injured as you were…" Camellia said, and she found that Remus was still smiling at her. "I mean, I'll help you of course because I care about you, but let's not make a habit of it, okay?"

"I'll try my best," Remus said quietly. "It's probably one of the last times I'll go out with James and Sirius, to be honest. I think Professor Dumbledore wants me to start getting involved with other werewolves, and try to switch them over to our side. What we have so far is saying that they're planning on turning toward the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who,"

Camellia tried to keep displeasure off her face, but it was there. "Remus…"

"I know it's not ideal," he said, "But I'm the only one who can. I'm the only one in the Order who can. No one else is like me,"

"Which is why I don't want you to get hurt. You're so kind, Remus, and we both know that not every werewolf is like you in that regard,"

"But they could be. If people just treated them correctly I'm sure there wouldn't be so much hatred between them and wizards,"

"It's sweet, how optimistic you are," Camellia said gently. "Remus a lot of these people you'll be going to have lived with their hate for years. Decades, maybe. It's not easy to change that kind of thing, and it's not a one-person kind of job,"

"I can still try," Remus said stubbornly, and Camellia sighed. She wouldn't stop him, if he really wanted to do it, but she'd probably lose her mind with worry. She really did care about him. "Please just support me?"

Camellia sighed again, but nodded slightly. "In anything you do, even if it makes me nervous,"

Remus smiled at her again. "Thank you,"

She nodded, and looked at his now-covered chest once again. Remus noticed her gaze, and looked at her nervously. "It's… It's just a couple of scars. I...I can't get rid of them, so if they bother you, I…"

"They bother me for one reason only, Remus Lupin," she said softly. "They mean you've been hurt at one point in time. I don't tend to mind scars,"

He seemed to let out a breath of relief. "I know they're not attractive, but there's nothing I can do about them,"

Camellia shrugs, and says, "Honestly, they don't bother me. Not that I'll see them a whole lot for a while, but maybe I will some day,"

Remus raised an eyebrow, and said, "What does that mean, exactly?"

"I...I mean I may have abandoned most of what I knew, growing up, but I...I still believe in traditional things, so-"

"That's...not the part I was hoping you'd explain. I already knew that would happen, Camellia, because I know you. I just… But you think you would? You think we'd...we'd stay together and…"

Camellia could feel herself growing red. "I...I mean I wouldn't mind that,"

"Me either," Remus said quietly, and he smiled at her.

Not long after the exchange, Remus fell asleep. His friends came back out of the kitchen, along with Anna, and James and Sirius both raced back to Remus' room to claim the bed. There was a commotion, and Camellia was sure she'd heard glass break, before Sirius came back out to the living room with a defeated look on his face. Camellia laughed before she told him to go ahead and take her bed, and Sirius actually hugged her before he ran back to go to sleep.

Lily and Anna decided to go out to the store, despite Camellia claiming they had food in their kitchen, so they could get something and make everyone a good meal. It turned out Anna was a big fan of cooking, and Lily was more than willing to help her make them something to eat. Camellia denied their invitation to go with them, and instead fell asleep in the armchair Lily had slept in the night before.

She didn't even notice when Lily and Anna came back. Nor did she notice when James and Sirius stumbled out of the bedrooms and argued over who would get to shower first. They both ended up in Remus' clothes, having adjusted them to fit, and when Remus woke up and gingerly walked into the kitchen to help everyone else-his side was a bit sore still-they all forced him out and he went and sat down on the sofa once again.

When Camellia did wake up, her flat was full of laughter, and it seemed Remus' friends were getting along really well with Anna. They were playing a card game while sitting on the kitchen floor, because Remus had apparently sent them into the other room so they wouldn't disturb Camellia. Her home felt happy and light, despite Remus walking in injured earlier that afternoon.

That night they laughed, and they talked as if they'd all been friends since they were young. Camellia was a bit surprised that she was being so well accepted by Remus' friends, but she was glad for it too. She didn't know what she'd do if Remus' friends hadn't accepted her, because she knew that would have upset Remus a great deal. And she really did care about his happiness.

And after that day, life went on. James and Lily came to visit and insisted they go on double dates when they got the chance, which always made Sirius roll his eyes when he found out about how silly it all was. Peter seemed a bit jealous, though the boys all made sure to make time for him as well. Camellia grew closer to Lily, as well as Anna who was happy that they'd managed to continue their friendship after they left Hogwarts.  
Camellia and Remus continued to grow closer to each other. If they weren't going out with Lily and James, they tended to just stay in and cook together, or play chess, or honestly just sit on the sofa together and read their own books. But the peaceful nature of their relationship worked for them, and they were relatively tight on money-or at least on money they were willing to spend, as much of Camellia's family's money was being saved for emergencies-so less expensive options suited them best.

It was one of their simple dates where Camellia and Remus found themselves laughing in the kitchen while they washed the dishes from that night. It was silly to stand there and wash them, because there were easy spells they could use instead, but it was an action they were doing together so Camellia didn't complain. They were having a conversation about Remus' new job, as he'd had to leave the one at the bookstore. The owner had started inquiring into his scars and Remus had thought it best to leave. He would be working a job in a grocery store next, and while he wasn't exactly thrilled about it, it would at least cover his half of rent.

Near the end of the dishes they had to wash, Camellia caught Remus watching her as he dried a bowl. "What?" she asked, grinning at him.

Remus had simply shrugged, and said, "It's just...your hair is down," he said, and Camellia looked at him curiously.

"Your point?"

"It's always in a bun," he said, shrugging.

"Have I disappointed you with my appearance today, Remus?" she asked with a hint of amusement in her voice. She knew Remus was always very careful with treating her respectfully, because he'd been around to hear a lot of what Evan had said to her when they were together.

"No, it's nothing like that. I think it looks great. I'm just not used to it, I guess," he said, shrugging.

"Well maybe I'll start wearing it like this more often, just to throw you off," Camellia grinned, and Remus rolled his eyes.

"I was trying to compliment you, Camellia," he muttered, drying the last dish as Camellia let the water out of the kitchen sink.

"Well you did. Thank you,"

"Yeah, sure," Remus said. "I'm going to make a quick run to Diagon Alley, before the shops close. Do you want to come?"

"I'll just work on my book," Camellia decided, and Remus nodded.

"I'll see you later then, alright? I shouldn't be back too late," he said, and before either of them could process what was happening, he leaned over and quickly kissed her.

Camellia had seen Remus' parents do it quite often, when one of them was leaving. They would just lean over, press a quick kiss to the other's lips, and then leave without another word. But Remus just jerked away from her, as if he'd been burned by something, and he stared at her in horror. Camellia stared back at him, trying to decide if the horrified expression was because he'd realized with the kiss that they'd shared alerted him to the fact that he didn't feel anything with it. Camellia had been pleasantly surprised, but if Remus realized he didn't like her as much as he thought he did… "I'm so sorry!" Remus blurted out. "I'm so...I didn't mean to, I swear, it just happened, I-"

"Hey-Hey calm down, okay? It...It's not a problem,"

"It's...But that's supposed to be more special, that kind of thing is supposed to be magical and-"

"Have you been reading love stories or something?" Camellia asked, and Remus rolled his eyes at her. "Remus, it's okay. I...It was nice, in my opinion. I'm not upset,"

"You're not?" he asked, and Camellia shook her head.

"I'm not," she repeated, and she smiled at Remus encouragingly. "Maybe...Maybe we could even do it more often. Just that, for now, I...I mean we haven't been together all that long, but I think that's okay, right?" Remus nodded in agreement, and Camellia smiled as she pushed him out of the kitchen. "I'll see you when you get back, Remus, alright?" He nodded in agreement, and even after he left Camellia couldn't help but to chuckle. He cared about what she wanted. Sure she'd kissed other people before, but none of them had been Remus, and none of those kisses had been quite as genuine and sweet.


	32. Chapter 32

The first time Camellia went out on a mission for the Order was with Remus, though it was also with James, Sirius, and Lily. Peter was with his mother, who was getting sick. Someone had sent for help from the Ministry, and they'd heard about it from some of the aurors in the Order. There was a town being attacked by Death Eaters, and they all knew they had to help.

Remus hadn't wanted Camellia to come. True, she'd joined the Order and had every right to come and help, but he didn't like the thought of her being in danger. He didn't like the thought of knowing where she was or whether or not she was okay. Camellia told him not to worry about it, and had planted a kiss on his cheek before they left.

And now, as he ran through a town he didn't know, chasing after people he didn't know who he'd just witnessed torture a family, he also didn't know where Camellia was. There were shouts and explosions and the entire situation was a mess, but what he was most concerned about was Camellia. She wasn't used to fighting like this, and Remus knew she wasn't a big fan. Not only that, there were green curses flying about.

If one of those spells hit Camellia, he didn't know what he'd do. Camellia loved him, he knew she did, and he wasn't sure he'd ever find another person to love him like she did. They just… They worked. He wasn't sure that would happen with someone else.

There was shouting. He engaged in combat again, and heard someone scream his name. But he ignored them, because the person he was fighting had been heading to another house. They were just causing chaos and trying to locate people they thought were threats against them. Remus was sure someone in the town was in the Order; that seemed to be most of the problem these days.

All of the sudden, the Death Eater he was dueling stopped. Remus was about to send another curse in their direction before he felt something touch his back. "Drop your wand, Lupin," the voice said, and Remus was furious when he recognized it.

"Yeah, that's a really brilliant plan," he muttered, not wanting to turn his back on the other Death Eater even though he wanted to face the man behind him. "I think you forget that I'm not an idiot, Rosier,"

"Oh, really? If you were intelligent, Lupin, you would have turned around when she called for you,"

The fear that rushed through his mind when he heard that made every thought of self-preservation leave him. He turned his back on the Death Eater he'd been dueling, eyes wide and searching for Camellia. There was no one else Evan Rosier would be talking about. "Where-"

And then he saw her. A woman was holding her, hands knotted in Camellia's hair and yanking at it. She was bleeding, and bleeding badly, though Remus couldn't tell where from. "R-Remus _please don't_ -" she started, but the woman yanked her hair and Camellia gave a shout of pain.

" _What have you done to her_?" he asked loudly, wanting nothing more than to just shove Evan Rosier away from him and run to Camellia. The woman was smiling and cackling and she kept yanking at Camellia's hair.

"What do you think, Lupin? I thought you were supposed to be brilliant?" Rosier asked. Remus narrowed his eyes, and Rosier laughed. "I think we'll take her with us. Spoils of war, eh? She'll be a fun prisoner. And you should see what we do to prisoners, Lupin. _Especially_ ones as pretty as her,"

"Don't you _touch_ her, do you understand me? She's my girlfriend and I love her and if you touch her I _swear_ -"

"And what are you going to do? You can't help her, Lupin. She'll be dead in weeks. And if she's not dead, she'll be insane. All because you didn't turn-"

Rosier stopped when a fist met his face. And it wasn't even Remus'. Instead, Remus saw Sirius standing next to him all of the sudden, which the woman holding Camellia hadn't noticed because she was too busy cackling and holding Camellia under some sort of-She was shaking, and screaming, and Remus recognized it immediately as the Cruciatus Curse. His stomach lurched. "That's my friend Cam you're talking about, you rotten little snake," Sirius muttered, before he sent a quick curse at the woman holding Camellia. She still hadn't been paying attention. _Idiot_.

Both of the women dropped to the ground. Camellia had been screaming, Remus hadn't been able to really process it, but it stopped. It was more silent than he remembered. The Death Eaters were disappearing. Everything was coming to a close, as they'd done their damage. Remus saw another woman run up to Camellia, though he recognized her as Lily and didn't send a curse in her direction. "Hey, Remus, look at me," Sirius said, frowning. "Mate, look at me. Lily's got her; she'll be okay. They tore up this town and we need to take care of it, alright?"

"Sirius she's-"

"She will be fine," Sirius said sharply. "Lily will take her back to the flat, and she'll be alright. But there are people here, and they need our help, because their lives have just been destroyed. Can you handle this?"

" _Sirius_ -"

"Remus can you handle this?"

He nodded slowly. He didn't want to, but Camellia would be furious if he left people injured. Sirius patted his shoulder, said another encouragement about Camellia, before pulling him away to go help people.

They got to work, healing the injured and covering the dead with conjured sheets. It was work that no one enjoyed, especially when they saw families crying over their loved ones. Remus tried to keep his mind off Camellia and focus on the people in front of him, but half the time her bloodied face came to his head. He was terrified for her.

But for a moment, just one, he forgot. Because running toward him was a man he vaguely recognized, and it took him a moment before he realized it was Anna the Ravenclaw's boyfriend. "Mark?"

"It's Remus, yeah? Is there anything I can do to help? I was visiting my parents when they came; I got them out safe but I've grown up around these people. I want to do something," he said, looking concerned.

"This is your town?" Remus asked, and Mark nods. "Can you help with healing? And-Is Anna alright?"

"She's at her flat with her friend," Mark said, confused. "Why?"

"Camellia got hurt," Remus said, once again thinking about his girlfriend. "I… I think Lily took her to our flat, and I…"

"I'll write Anna really fast," Mark promised before running off. Remus went back to healing people.

It took hours, both to heal people and to alter the memories of the muggles that lived there. And by the end of it, Remus and his friends were absolutely exhausted. But there was a mutual decision to go to Remus' flat, and Remus went as quickly as he possibly could. Lily would take Camellia there; Lily would make sure she was okay.

He and his friends appeared in the kitchen. On the counters were towels covered with blood. And from the direction of the living room, Remus heard, " _Shit, shit, shit_ , Anna please go get another towel! _Why won't this stop bleeding_?"

Remus' stomach lurched again. It had been hours, and they hadn't healed Camellia yet. Which, to Remus, meant that she was dead. She was gone. The one person who would ever love him- "You're back!" Anna exclaimed as she ran into the kitchen. "It's about time; we've been worried sick about you lot. You two," she said, pointing to James and Sirius, "look each other over for injuries please, and then there are two beds open. You know where they are, I'm assuming?"

James and Sirius both nod and leave the kitchen without a word. Anna turned to Remus with a sympathetic look on her face before she sighed. "Look, it's bad. She's mostly healed up, but she got into something with Severus Snape before the woman grabbed her, or at least that's what I understand. He cursed her with something awful, and a it's… the skin on her stomach's just been torn to shreds. Lily and I are trying every healing spell we know, and we can get the bleeding to stop for a while, but it starts back up again. It's like the wounds refuse to be healed, and it's surely dark magic, I just… We're getting closer, okay? And we've got spells to help with everything else until we figure these out,"

There's a large lump in the back of Remus' throat. "Shouldn't...Shouldn't we take her to St. Mungos?"

"Probably," Anna said softly. "But I don't think there's anyone better than Lily and I. We're her friends, which means we're more likely to make sure she doesn't die. The healers at St. Mungo's… Well, to them she's just another casualty of war. We've got this, Remus. Just go get James or Sirius to check you for wounds too, and then get some rest. When you wake up, we'll have her all fixed up and back to normal,"

"But-But shouldn't I-" Remus started, gesturing nervously toward the living room.

"Normally I'd say yes," Anna stated. "But she's… she's not exactly _decent_ right now and she'd be furious if you saw anything you shouldn't. It's the curse of having a girlfriend raised to be incredibly traditional,"

And then Anna reached around him, grabbed a fresh towel, and ran back to the living room. Remus, despite his better judgment, went back to find his friends. They'd listen to him as he told them how terrified he was for the girl he loved.

He found his friends holed up in his room, James healing some cuts on Sirius that probably came from broken glass. They looked at Remus in concern as he entered. "Is she okay?"

Remus shook his head slightly, and shrugged. "Anna said that Lily would heal her. But I… I don't know,"

A half a week later was when they started attending funerals. They didn't directly know most of the people, but they wanted to attend anyway. It only felt right, because they'd tried to help the people and they should be there to respect them in their death.

Camellia didn't come. She'd wanted to, and she'd been furious when Remus had forced her to stay at their flat. But their not-so-great healing had left her with scars on her stomach, and the deepest of them was only just starting to heal properly. Remus had wanted to help her, but Camellia refused to show him. She told him it wasn't because there were scars, and just because she didn't want to show off. Remus tried to tell her that she was being ridiculous, which had led to them both shouting at each other.

It had been their first big fight, as a couple at least. Camellia had stormed away, angrily muttering about him not being able to force her to do things. She'd come back out about a half hour later and grabbed another bandage from their place beside the couch. She'd stormed out of the room in a huff after. And then, Camellia had refused to talk to him for a few days, until he'd come back early in the morning after a full moon. She looked worried and threw her arms around his neck, despite finding herself wincing slightly, before quietly telling him that she was sorry they'd ever fought in the first place.

Still, she'd been furious when he told her he thought it best for her to stay home. Granted she felt sick and a she'd shaken for a day after the mission, but Remus knew she felt bad for not going. He promised if anyone asked he'd explain everything.

He ended up getting home late one night after a day full of sorrow and tears. He'd found Camellia stretched out on the sofa, a book resting on her chest as she snored lightly. Remus just smiled, pleased when he saw Camellia as relaxed as she was at that moment. He walked over and shook her shoulder gently, which made her groan slightly. "I'm sleeping," she muttered, which made Remus chuckle and kneel down next to her.  
"Let's get you to bed, alright? It's getting late,"

Camellia shook her head, and ended up pulling on Remus' hand until his fingers were intertwined with hers. "I'm sleeping," she repeated softly, and Remus smiled slightly at her.

And before he could stop himself, he mumbled, "I love you,"

Camellia's eyes opened slightly, and Remus felt himself growing red. It was way too soon for this, and he didn't need Camellia getting frightened by his behavior. "I-I'm-"

"Don't say you're sorry," Camellia whispered, closing her eyes again. "That makes it seem like you were saying it just because you could,"

"I know that I mean it, Camellia, I just… I don't want to freak you out,"

Camellia didn't respond, because she'd already fallen back to sleep. So Remus took the book off her chest and carefully marked her page before he set it on the end table. He grabbed a blanket then and carefully laid it over her before he took a pillow and put it under her head.

He went back to his own room then, and changed out of a shabby suit he'd worn that day. He would have dressed in robes, but they'd had to attend some muggle funerals as well so he'd dressed accordingly. He went to bed that night, feeling guilty for the fact that he was glad he hadn't been forced to attend Camellia's funeral.

The days passed, and Camellia got better, and they went on more missions and more people died. It seemed to be their life now, attending funerals and fighting. Some nights Remus would disappear to work with others like him. And sometimes, he'd disappear for weeks at a time. Every time he got home from a mission like that, Camellia tended to be a nervous wreck. Especially if he got home later than expected. It strained everything, though she ended up growing closer to Lily and Sirius, surprisingly, though Remus knew both Sirius and Camellia were worried about what Regulus. They bonded over that first.

But time went on. Remus grew a bit distant from his friends with all the time he spent away, though Camellia fought to stay as close to him as possible. Despite her fear of him getting hurt and leaving her, she would make sure to make the most of their time together. When he would leave again she would try not to get too upset, but he could see how worried she was.

It all got a bit better when they all had a break from missions. The Death Eaters seemed to be fairly quiet as of late, and no one had been hurt in a while. Remus, while he still had to continue some work with werewolves, also got to spend more time at home. He enjoyed seeing Camellia more, and they spent time with their friends.

Months passed like this. There were more attacks, and they had to go out and help, but no one minded doing that. They enjoyed helping people, which was half the reason they'd joined the Order in the first place. The other half was probably because they knew they'd all end up dead if they didn't fight.

But what Remus found more interesting than the fighting was the fact that Camellia still loved him. No matter how many things he did wrong, like missing dinner or forgetting that they were supposed to go out on a date, she still stayed with him. She even took care of him after the full moons, and she healed new scars to the best of her ability. And for a while, everything worked for them. They didn't really go much further in their relationship, and they didn't mention what Remus had said the night when she was asleep on the couch.

Until one night, when he and Camellia were both free, and they decided they'd have a night out. It wasn't often they went to restaurants to eat dinner, as Camellia tried to save most of her money and Remus didn't have much to spend in the first place. But they'd been together a while at that point, and Camellia had insisted that it was about time they celebrated. She also insisted on paying, which Remus tried to refuse.

They were almost late for their reservation, because Remus couldn't decide which shabby dress shirt was best. Camellia was sitting on his bed and laughing as he held one up, trying to pick one to wear. Finally, Camellia just grabbed one and pushed it into his hands before walking out of the room and waiting in the living room.

She ended up pulling Remus out of the flat and through the streets until they got to the restaurant. Dinner was interesting, as Remus didn't tend to go to fancy places so he wasn't entirely sure how to act. But Camellia helped him through it, and they ended up laughing. It was almost as if they weren't in a war at all. And near the end, Camellia had said, "I realized the other day that I never responded to you, when you told me that you loved me. I... I just wanted you to know that I love you too,"

But when they went home that night, Camellia grinning and laughing and Remus with an arm around her waist as he laughed too, he was reminded. Because sitting in their living room was Sirius, with his head in his hands. "Sirius?" Camellia asked, her use of his first name reminding Remus that they were friends.

Sirius looked up at her, and Remus could tell that his friend's eyes were watering. "I got a letter tonight," he said quietly. "He's joined up; it's official. He… It's like we've lost him,"

Camellia's eyes widened slightly, but she didn't look all that surprised. "We knew this was coming," she said softly. "He felt like he didn't have a choice, and we knew he'd join as soon as he turned sixteen. It will be alright; he won't get hurt,"

Remus went to the kitchen and made them tea, while Camellia and Sirius talked about Regulus Black, and how they were sure they'd never see him the same as he was before.


	33. Chapter 33

Camellia couldn't breathe. Okay, she could breathe, but it wasn't pleasant. The air was filled with smoke and that made it hard. She could hear screams and she cringed every time. It sounded like it was Max, and she couldn't help but to feel nervous that she'd come out of the darkness she was trapped in and find her brother dead once again. She couldn't handle it; her sanity would surely break. There was another scream. It sounded like Remus this time. And next, Camellia felt a scream burst from her own throat, and...

"Camellia! Camellia wake up, it's just a dream, _it's just a dream_ -" She knew the voice was right. She was flailing on her bed, and there were arms around her, trying to hold her down. It was Remus. It had to be Remus; please let it be Remus.

She gasped and sat up, a hand to her chest as she felt her heart pound. She must have been actually screaming, because there was no other reason for Remus running into her room. He was kneeling over her bed, his eyes wide and panicked as he looked at her. "What is it? Camellia, are you okay?"

Despite everything she knew she should do, Camellia found herself reaching up and grabbing Remus to hug him as tightly as she could. Max might be gone forever, but Remus was still here. Remus wasn't screaming somewhere far away and trying not to die. Remus was here and warm and he was holding her like it would be the last time. "Nightmare," she finally managed to whisper. "I had a nightmare. I'm... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I just..."

"Wake me for all of them," he said gently, not releasing her from the hug. "You got them after Max right?"

Camellia nodded, and Remus finally let her go. But he waited for a moment before walking around her relatively small bed and climbing on it to sit next to her. He put an arm around her shoulders, and Camellia pretended they were on their sofa so she wouldn't feel at all uncomfortable. "For a while. I...I didn't tend to wake up like this now, though," she muttered, and Remus gave her a small squeeze.

"What do you think caused it?" he asked next, and Camellia frowned before shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"I… Hearing about those twins that died yesterday… I didn't know them well but that probably added to it, right? And today was just stressful, with getting new assignments for the Order and then having to meet with Flourish and Blotts to see if they'll even carry my book when it's finished. I visited Max's grave again today, I just…" She trailed off, shrugging as she became unsure of what else to say.

"Today was a stressful day," Remus agreed quietly, and after the remark they sat in silence. Camellia didn't want to sleep because another nightmare would be embarrassing. And Remus sat up with her in case she did end up falling back to sleep. She knew that he just wanted to be there for her, and she appreciated it.

There was no conversation as the early hours of the morning of flew past. Camellia found she didn't mind just sitting with Remus, as she took comfort in his presence. She couldn't remember feeling that way with anyone other than Regulus and Max, and it was still different from that.

She didn't know what she'd do when he left. They'd been assigned new tasks the previous day, and Remus was leaving in a week's time to spend a month with a group of werewolves. He was supposed to convince them not to join Voldemort, though the leader of this particular group had already made his opinions clear. Camellia was worried for him, because while Remus was amazing, she knew not every person was. And if one of the other werewolves decided they didn't like what he was saying… She wouldn't know what to do if he was hurt.

There were more evenings like that as the week passed. It wasn't that Camellia was having nightmares and Remus wasn't either, they just enjoyed each other's company. So they'd sit up in bed until one of them fell asleep-usually Camellia, which irritated her to no end-and the other would switch leave for the other bed. It worked for them; they were happy with what they were doing.

But after a week, Camellia became more and more nervous. Remus was her best friend, and he was going to a dangerous place to try and save them. They fought about it before dinner every night, because Camellia had started insisting that he tell Dumbledore he couldn't do it. That was all he had to say, and then they could stay together and not be worried about each other. Remus refused though, and told her that if she wanted to turn her back on the Order then she could, but he wouldn't. Still, at the end of the night he'd come creeping back into her room to sit beside her.

When the time came, Remus swung a bag over his shoulder, kissed her cheek, and walked out the door. Camellia had thrown a book at it before long, as she tried to keep herself from running after him and demanding he come home. Remus would never forgive her if she did that, which meant their relationship would be ruined.

She lasted a good week on her own before she wrote Anna and had her come over to spend the night. The next day, Mark came over as well to keep them company. Anna had her work on her history book, while she and Mark baked together in the kitchen. They brought her cake around four in the afternoon, but had to leave soon after for a dinner with Anna's parents.

They visited every now and then after that, but Camellia knew she couldn't ask them to be there every day. They had lives of their own to attend to, and Camellia wouldn't interrupt them. But one person who seemed to have no problem with being interrupted was Sirius Black. It seemed Anna had written him to tell him that Camellia was lonely, and he made a point of showing up every day a little after six so they could eat dinner and play a game. He didn't stay long, but Camellia found herself liking him even more each time he came. Sometimes he brought James and Lily and Peter with him, and there had even been one night where he'd brought over two bottles of Firewhiskey and insisted they drink both of them. Camellia hadn't had as much as Sirius, but she'd appreciated what he'd been trying to do.

She managed well enough, until the month had passed and Remus was due to return home. And then the date he'd said passed, and Camellia started to get worried. They wouldn't really have a way to know if Remus had been hurt. They didn't have any other contacts in the group he'd been sent to, and it was too dangerous for anyone else to go in and investigate, since they ran the risk of contracting Lycanthropy. The other Order members assured her that he was going to be fine, but there was no way for them to know.

The longer Remus was late, the longer Sirius would come to see her. There was one day he showed up at seven in the morning, though Camellia had made him promise to never do that again. She hadn't even been out of bed yet.

She didn't have much hope until she was sitting in bed one morning, around ten, and she heard the front door open. Camellia didn't particularly like running, though she did it when she was sure it was Remus; Sirius wasn't due for another thirty minutes. She wanted to scold him for not coming home one time, and she wanted to kiss him as well even though she would probably talk herself out of it. But as she ran into the living room, she heard someone click their tongue. Camellia stopped cold when she recognized the face smirking at her from the door.

"After that little blood traitor was killed, I'd have thought that you would be more careful with your doors opening,"

For a moment she was silent. And then she managed to say, " _Get out_ ,"

Evan Rosier laughed. "I did tell your little wolf that we'd get to you. That we'd make you insane, or, well, _whatever_. There's plenty I can do to you now,"

Camellia tried not to swallow and be afraid. She wanted to ask how he'd found out about Remus, and whether or not that meant he was okay, but she refrained. "I believe I told you to get out,"

"You've no right to make demands of me," Evan said angrily, glaring at her. Camellia glared back.

"You've no right to enter my home and threaten me. Tell me, Evan, does your father approve of you showing up in a girl's home?"

"He approves of me showing up at yours,"

Camellia's eyes narrowed a bit more. "Charming. You're a really great family, did you know?"

"We're better than the blood traitors you call family," Evan responded, scowling at her. She knew the comment had angered him, but she was angry that he'd decided to enter her home.

"Sure you are," She realized that she needed to just keep him talking. She didn't like him and she didn't trust him, and he was dangerous. He was, after all, a willing Death Eater. "So tell me, Evan Rosier, what did you want from me today?"

"I came to pick up where things left off,"

"When, exactly, did we leave off?"

Evan grinned at her, and Camellia definitely didn't feel comfortable with it. "Depends. Maybe we'll start in multiple places? The last time I saw you, we were supposed to be under the Cruciatus Curse. And a while ago, I was supposed to get to do whatever I wanted with you,"

She kept her face calm so he wouldn't see that the comment stressed her out. She didn't want anything to do with Evan, and she wanted him to get out of her home. She also wanted Remus to come back, or for Sirius to come barging in the door a bit earlier than he was supposed to. Sirius would be able to hand Evan, because he took his wand everywhere. Camellia's was still in her bedroom.

"Do we really have to do this?" Camellia asked, sounding bored. She enjoyed the irritated expression that passed over Evan's face. "Look, we both know this won't end well for you. If you curse me or anything, well, my friends will find out and they won't appreciate it. You don't really want them to come after you, do you?"

"Are you trying to threaten me?" Evan asked, still grinning.

"I'm trying to return the favor," Camellia said, sending him a polite smile. "You threatened me, so I thought, _why not_? It's only fair,"

A moment later, all Camellia could think about was excruciating pain. There was nothing she could do to stop it, and she knew she was squirming slightly but she bit her tongue to keep from crying out in pain. After a minute, the pain was gone. "Don't threaten me. You have no power, Camellia. I can do anything I want, and your precious little boyfriend isn't here to save you this time. Neither is that stupid little blood traitor you call a friend,"

Camellia glared at him instead of responding. She hadn't realized how often that particular curse would be thrown around in the war, and she despised it. Her hands were shaking slightly, so she folded her arms across her chest to hide them. Evan smirked, and Camellia's eyes narrowed further. "Don't insult them,"

"Would you like to go through this again?" Evan asked, raising his wand and pointing it at her. Camellia didn't move; she wasn't going to plead with him. So of course, she once again felt like there were burning knives pressing into her skin. A small gasp escaped her lips this time, though she was still able to refrain from screaming. The next time she wasn't quite as lucky. The shaking of her hands got even worse.

He lifted the curse after a while, and Camellia blinked hurriedly to try and seem strong again. And then, she felt lips on hers and a hand on her chest, and a tongue enter her mouth. Panic overtook her mind, and she clamped her jaw down. Evan gasped and Camellia felt blood in her mouth, and finally Evan pushed her away. She fell to the floor and pushed herself back against the sofa. "Get out of my home," she spat, wiping a hand on her mouth as if that would fix the taste.

There was a knock at the door then, and Evan scowled. "I'll be back tonight, do you understand? I'll be back tonight and we'll see how you do then," He was gone in the blink of an eye.

Her hands were still shaking, and there was blood in her mouth. Despite that, she didn't hesitate to climb off the floor and run to the door. Sirius was leaning against it and about fell into her. "Hey, Cam, how's your-What the hell happened?"

Was there blood on her lips or something? She knew she'd bit Evan hard enough to bleed but she hadn't thought it was anywhere else. She'd spit it out but she hadn't thought about it getting on her. "Evan came over," she said, trying to sound aloof. "I didn't find pleasure in his kiss and I…"

"You're insane," Sirius muttered, shaking his head and pulling her back into the flat. "I want you to grab your wand and some clothes and then we'll head to my place, alright? You're not staying here alone tonight; Remus was stupid to leave you here by yourself,"

"Don't insult him," Camellia said, and Sirius rolled his eyes as she pushed his shoulder slightly.

Sirius caught her hand and stared at it, which made Camellia frown. Her fingers were still shaking slightly. "What else did he do?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle," Camellia said dismissively. "Just drop it, Sirius, okay?"

"Camellia-"

"Don't. Let's just… God, I hate asking. Could I stay with you tonight? He… He's said that he's going to come back tonight and I don't want to know what that would bring,"

"Of course you can," Sirius said, rolling his eyes. "As if you needed to ask,"

"Well, you had hated me for a good six years," Camellia said, leaving Sirius standing in the living room. She threw some clothes into a bag and grabbed her wand before heading back out to look at her relatively new friend.

"I'm sorry about that, you know," he said quietly, and Camellia looked at him in surprise.

"It doesn't matter anymore,"

"But I-"

"Look, you've actually grown up since Hogwarts. And you don't hate me anymore, so that's nice too. We should just forget about school and be friends. Sound alright?"

Sirius nodded, and sent Camellia a smile. She returned it and took his arm as he disapparated, which made Camellia feel a bit sick. They appeared in Sirius' flat and he just grinned at her. Sirius Black wasn't exactly an organized person, and he had no shame either.

"There's only one bedroom," he explained, shrugging. "So I hope you don't mind sleeping on the sofa, but it's all yours,"

"Hopefully without the socks?" Camellia asked, and Sirius laughed.

"I wasn't expecting company. But yeah, I'll clean them up later. We're supposed to meet James and Lily for lunch though, right? Are you still up for that or do you want to cancel?"

Camellia sighed and shook her head. "No, let's go. Just… Promise me you won't tell that what happened, or that I'm staying with you? And when Remus gets back, please, _please_ don't tell him,"

"We should probably tell him, Cam. He'll be mad if he finds out later,"

She shook her head firmly. "I'm not telling him. We'll… Evan will come back at some point and I'll just try to erase his memory and put up protective enchantments or something. I'll figure it out, just don't tell Remus,"

He didn't look like he wanted to agree, but slowly he nodded. Camellia thanked him, and they spent a few minutes just cleaning up the sofa. But then it was about time to meet Lily and James and, as awkward as she still felt doing so without Remus, Camellia was excited. They didn't know what had happened which meant that she didn't need to talk about as Sirius kept insisting on.

They had lunch in a muggle restaurant that Lily liked. Camellia enjoyed herself and she was happy to forget about Evan coming to her flat that morning. James and Lily didn't seem to notice anything, which was a relief. She didn't need them to keep looking at her worriedly like Sirius was.

The night spent at his flat was actually very entertaining. They played card games that Sirius had learned from some muggles, and he didn't make a single sarcastic comment. He knew that she didn't want to hear anything about it. The next day, Sirius distracted her until it was too late to go home and she had to spend another night on his sofa. She was glad to stay without having to ask, because she would have gone back to her own flat. Camellia didn't want to admit that she was afraid.

On the second morning she was at Sirius' flat, there was a knock at the door. Sirius answered it himself and was met with a panicked looking Remus Lupin. "You okay, mate?" Camellia heard him ask, and Remus' respond was so quick that Camellia couldn't catch it. "Woah-Hold on- _Remus she's fine_ -She's with me, she's on the sofa, just calm down, alright?"

Remus practically ran into the room, and when he saw her he let out a breath of relief. And for a moment, Camellia was happy. She'd missed him when he was away, and she almost forgot that he'd left her with no way to reach him. And he'd been late; he was supposed to go away for a month and it had lasted far longer than that. The happiness changed quickly to anger, before relief. He was okay; he would be back for a long time and surely he wouldn't leave her again.


	34. Chapter 34

Camellia didn't like being in their flat alone anymore. After bothering her about why for a few days, Remus finally learned that Evan Rosier had entered their flat. He was shocked, because he'd never expected that to happen. And when he heard what Rosier had said to Camellia, he was angry. Rosier was after her, probably because she'd embarrassed him when things had ended. Remus assumed that most of it, though, was simply because the Death Eaters wanted to scare Camellia.

Still, they put up protective enchantments a few minutes after the conversation ended. Remus was sure Rosier wouldn't be able to get in, not with what he'd done, and the Camellia would be safe. And they were lucky, because it didn't seem like Rosier was trying to come back. He may have threatened to, but weeks went by and no one tried to get to flat. Remus managed to convince Camellia that it was safe to be there alone, but sometimes he could still tell that she was afraid. She would never actually admit that to him, because she was too stubborn, but she was. Remus knew what fear looked like, and he knew that the look in her eyes reflected that.

Missions for the Order didn't come as frequently for a couple of weeks, so Remus took the opportunity to try and find another job. He'd lost his last one because he'd had to leave for over a month and hadn't been back in time for his next scheduled shift. Remus didn't really mind, as he hadn't been a fan of his previous job. Still, it meant he had to find a new one. Camellia was supportive and told him that anyone would be stupid not to hire him, which always made him smile. She knew the best ways to do that, be it some compliment or just a smile sent in his direction. He'd never realized a Slytherin could make him as happy as she did.

Sometimes he thought about the fact that James and Lily were getting married in a year's time. They were moving fairly quickly, but they were afraid. They wanted to be together as soon as possible in case they didn't get to spend the rest of their lives that way. And sometimes Remus thought it was sweet, to want to be together like that. He didn't know what Camellia would think about any of that, but Remus wouldn't mind so much. Not right away, but maybe some day.

Currently though, Remus was just trying to avoid Camellia's gaze. His plan for getting a new job seemed to be going out the window; Dumbledore wanted him to go back to the other werewolves and try and convince them to avoid the Death Eaters again. He didn't know how he was going to, because the majority hadn't seemed interested after last time. Remus knew he had to try, but he could pretty much feel a glare on him. Camellia was seated to his left, which meant Remus was looking to his right. But to his right was Sirius, and Sirius was glaring too. Remus turned to look in front of him, where James was sitting, but James looked irritated. He blushed and looked down, knowing he'd have no support if he said yes.

But he had to say yes, didn't he? He couldn't let the Order down. And having other werewolves against them would be dangerous, considering how many people they'd either try to turn or kill. They might even go after Camellia, which meant he'd be going to protect her. Why couldn't she understand that? "Remus? Would you be willing to go again? It should be just over a month again," It was one of the rare occasions where Albus Dumbledore was there at the actual meeting, and he was looking at Remus curiously.

Under the table, he felt Camellia grab his hand. She didn't want him to go; she was afraid. How could he leave her when she was afraid? But then again, how could he not do something that would end up keeping her safe? "I… Of course I can go, Professor Dumbledore," Remus said quietly, and Camellia's hand immediately left his.

Albus Dumbledore smiled at him, saying, "Thank you, Mr. Lupin. I expect you will find this task to be an interesting one,"

The attention quickly went away from him, though Remus could feel his friends' eyes on him. When he glanced at them, no one looked pleased. And when he looked at Camellia, she looked hurt. He had promised that he wouldn't leave again so soon, but if the Order needed him to do something he had no choice.

The meeting ended soon after his promise, and Camellia didn't stay to chat with anyone. She glared at Remus, a look that clearly told him to follow her, and then she disappeared. His friends gathered around him and tried to talk to him, but Remus just shook his head and apparated back to the flat.

When he appeared in the living room, he heard something slam in the kitchen. He sighed, knowing that it was Camellia. He hated fighting with her, and he knew one was coming. At least they didn't do it often. With frown Remus walked to the kitchen and saw Camellia bent over the counter. "I… I know you're mad," Remus began quietly. "But I had to. I can't let them down,"

"Mad?" Camellia asked, a dangerous sound to her voice. "I'm not mad, Remus. I'm absolutely furious,"

"Camellia, please just try to understand that-"

"That you're leaving when I've asked you not to?" Remus nearly flinched at her tone of voice. "You _know_ what happened here, and you know how I feel about being alone!"

"But we put up enchantments, Camellia, it's safe here now," Remus protested.

"It's safe because _you're_ here! It's safe because Evan Rosier wouldn't come when you're here because he knows he can't take you in a duel!"

"Even if he wanted to get in, Camellia, he couldn't! And you promised you'd support me in whatever I needed to do, and this is something that I need to do,"

"No, it's something that you want to do," Camellia shouted, slamming her hand down against the counter. "You're bored here, is that it? This is too much for you, isn't it? You can't handle a relationship because-"

"Camellia it's not-"

"But it is, Remus, I understand that. I know this wasn't what you wanted, not really. You don't want to be trapped here with me when you could be out there doing whatever you wanted,"

"That's not what I want, Camellia. You know that's not what I want. Do I want to stay here and have a normal life with you? Absolutely. But this is a war, and I can't sit back and watch it unfold like you can. If you can't understand the need to fight in it then I'm very sorry, but I won't ignore that in myself,"

And suddenly, Camellia looked even angrier. "Have you forgotten what they've done to my family? I'm willing to fight, Remus, that's not the problem here. It's that my fights don't leave you with no knowledge of my whereabouts. And no one is after you, Remus; Evan Rosier's threatened me and it's like you don't even care!"

"Because it was a scare tactic!" Remus shouted, his volume finally matching hers. "If he actually _wanted_ to come and hurt you then _he would have come_! But he didn't, Camellia, because he was just trying to scare you, and it's such a stupid way to do it too. They want to scare you, that's it. Evan Rosier doesn't care about you,"

"So you think I'm being silly then?"

" _Yes_ , I-" Remus stopped speaking immediately. "That's not what I meant. Look, Camellia, it was a mis-"

She looked calm, which made Remus uneasy. When she got angry enough, she got calm. "If you'll excuse me then," Camellia said, sliding around him and to her own room. Remus watched her for a moment before sighing, and making himself tea. He'd apologize when she gave him the chance. Sure, it might take a while for her- There was a loud crack that had Remus running to her room and throwing the door open. Camellia was no longer inside, though there was a hurriedly written note on her bed that Remus picked up. It was simple, and just said that she'd be back at some point the next day, though Remus was still worried. He didn't like leaving things like this when they were angry with each other.

It had been a stupid fight. Remus couldn't even follow Camellia's train of thought for part of it, because she'd gone from being mad at him for agreeing to go to being under the impression that he didn't really want a relationship with her. Remus knew that she was wary about relationships, but he hadn't expected she'd think he didn't want to be with her.

He had half a mind to go out and find her now that she'd left. But Camellia usually wanted space when she was angry. She was probably at the Leaky Cauldron getting a room; she'd be back the next day. They'd talk through everything and they'd be okay. They had to be okay; if Remus ever lost her…

He spent the night reading on the sofa. Usually Camellia would be seated next to him, and he really did miss her presence. He imagined this was a bit of what she felt when he was gone, though she probably worried a bit more. But at half past ten that night, there was a knock on the front door. Remus frowned, because no one came to the door at this time of night, but he got up and answered it anyway.

He was met with the sight of James looking worried, and he quickly said, "Sirius is-"

There was a loud crack behind James, and then an even louder, "Remus bloody Lupin you _idiot_!"

Remus stepped back and James was pushed into the flat. Sirius slammed the door behind him, and glared at Remus. "What-"

"A scare tactic? You told her it meant _nothing_?"

"Since when are you protective of-"

"Since she became your girlfriend! Since you fell in love with her, and since I saw her at Max's funeral and-"

"Sirius, he gets the point," James said weakly, "I'm sure he knows that he's messed up,"

"You weren't the one to see her after Rosier showed up here. She was shaking and there was blood, and… And then we go out tonight, and she's just wandering around London. _Alone_. Don't you have any idea how dangerous that is?"

Remus felt more worried than before. "Where is she now? Did you-"

"I managed to convince her to spend the night at our place," James said. "Lily's good at talking people through this kind of thing. Besides, she wants to convince her to help plan our wedding or something like that. Cam knows more about our kind of wedding than Lily does. I'd offered to help myself, and you'd be surprised at how big of a rejection that got me,"

No one looked amused despite the obvious attempt at making them laugh. Sirius just looked like he wanted to murder Remus. Which Remus found odd; it's not like he and Camellia were that close, right?

"Don't diminish her fears," Sirius said angrily. "If she's afraid of something then you do whatever you can to make things better for her. Do you know why?" Remus chose not to respond and get silenced. "It's because she grew up a bit like me, you know that, and fears are always ignored in kids like us. Don't make her feel like that again; she'll hate it,"

Remus nodded then, and said, "I didn't think about it,"

"And you're supposed to be the smart one, Moony," Sirius muttered. He still looked mad, but not quite as furious.

"I am the smart one," Remus replied, hoping to make his friend grin. It didn't work as well as he'd wanted it to.

It only took a few more minutes for them to leave. Remus really was worried about Camellia, but at least he knew she was safe with Lily. He wished she would just come back, because he was no longer used to sitting in bed by himself at night, and he wanted to apologize for what he'd said.

His night passed with bad dreams and even worse rest. He figured it would have made sense not to have rested at all, with the quality he ended up getting. So around six in the morning he was up and making tea and eggs, and trying to figure out the best way to apologize to Camellia. Remus really didn't want to ruin things, because he did love her.

And around half past six that morning, there was a small pop in the living room. Remus hesitated only for a second before he ran out to see who it was. There was a possibility that it was just Sirius or James or Lily and they were coming to scold him again. But when he got into the living room he saw Camellia sitting down onto the sofa and putting her head in her hands. Remus could tell that she was upset, as he'd expected, and for a moment he wasn't sure what to do. But then he decided on saying, "Camellia, I… I know I was wrong,"

Camellia glanced at him, a frown already forming on her face. "Really? I had no idea," she muttered, and Remus glanced down at the floor.

"I… I know that you have every right to be afraid of what he said. I know that I should have been nicer about it, because I… I love you, Camellia. I really do love you, and I should have been better about helping you,"

Camellia was still staring at him, and Remus was still trying to look down at the floor. Every now and then, though, he'd glance at her and see her frown at him. But then, she stood up and approached him, placing her hand gently under his chin until he was looking her in the eyes. Remus frowned slightly, worried she was going to snap at him. "You, Remus Lupin, are an idiot. A truly idiotic person. And I… I love you too,"

"But you-"

Camellia took a step away from him, and Remus frowned. "You infuriate me sometimes, if I'm honest, and I needed to get away last night. I'm sorry I left, but I wanted to get away and think,"

"About?"

"Whether or not I could handle you leaving me again," she answered, and Remus looked down again. "But I love you. And it's… it's something you think you need to do, and I can respect that. Just promise me that you'll come back,"

"Of course I'll come back," Remus said gently. "I'll always come back for you,"

Within a moment their fight was done. Remus knew he was wrong in telling her that her fear didn't make sense, and he would try hard to never do that again. Remus had a week until he had to leave, and Camellia was okay with it so far. She wasn't thrilled, but they just weren't going to talk about it.

Their week went by fairly quickly. They spent a lot of time on their sofa, reading or playing games, or just talking. Remus tried to make Camellia laugh and more often than not he succeeded. They were happy, because they were together. Camellia was nervous, and Remus was more nervous that he'd come back and find her gone. Next time he'd be stronger; next time he would tell Dumbledore that he wanted to stay home with Camellia.

The night before he left, they ended up sitting together on Camellia's bed as they had been doing recently. She'd intertwined their hands and she was silent, so Remus was trying to distract her by talking about history. He didn't have much interest in history, but he loved hearing her talk about it. As long as he could get her interested, then he could get her talking.

And she did, eventually, before she fell asleep mid sentence. Remus stayed a bit longer than usual, because he didn't want to leave her yet. He did leave though, and went to his own room to collapse onto the bed and stare at the ceiling. She was going to stay with Sirius for a while, because he had an open sofa and he wasn't going to take no for an answer. He wished their flat made her feel safe, but he refused to make her feel bad about it again.

Camellia hugged him for a good five minutes before he left the next morning. And for the next month, he tried to cling to that feeling instead of focusing on the people he was with. They didn't seem fond of joining anyone and Remus knew that what most of the other werewolves wanted was to be treated respectfully. They didn't really want a war, but they were willing to side with whoever promised them something good. So far, the Death Eaters had made the best promise. He still tried, though he didn't get far.

And he didn't have any way to talk to Camellia. He missed her, and he was worried about her, and he wanted to see her more than he'd thought he would. Sirius was looking out for her though, and he would make sure that Camellia was okay when Remus got back. She'd be okay, and they'd stay together. Remus wouldn't leave her again; he loved her.

Nearly two weeks into his stay with the group of werewolves, someone managed to get a message to him. Camellia was okay, but she'd been in Diagon Alley and Rosier had started a duel with her. She'd been injured, but Sirius had been with her and he'd run out of a store to help when he'd realized what was happening. Remus was supposed to stay where he was, and he didn't know how to do that without freaking out about getting to Camellia to help her.


	35. Chapter 35

Camellia was waiting on Sirius' sofa. Sirius was in his bedroom, shouting at Remus who'd shown up in the middle of the night. He was supposed to have been back a month ago, but had gotten delayed every time he thought he'd be able to come back. Sirius was furious, not because he minded having Camellia stay with him, but because he thought Remus should have come back the moment he found out that Camellia and Evan Rosier had an altercation in Diagon Alley.

She couldn't hear what they were saying because Remus had immediately put up a silencing charm after Sirius had demanded to speak. They'd been locked in his bedroom for a good half an hour now, and Camellia really just wanted to go home. She'd slept on a sofa for the past two months, and she missed her bed. It was probably really dusty there, but at least it was home. She was too afraid to go back there alone, but it was still home.

Eventually, though, the door opened and Camellia was met with two very upset boys. Sirius looked angry, still, though even more tired than he'd been when Remus had first knocked on the door. Remus, on the other hand, looked like someone had told him he wasn't worth anything. Which, Camellia suspected, Sirius had said. He'd done a lot of talking in the time that Remus was away, and Camellia knew he was furious with him.

Still, she'd been relieved to see Remus walk through the door. She wanted to see him alive and whole, and when he'd walked in the door she'd been pleased. She'd wanted to jump up and hug him, but Sirius had pulled Remus back to his own room. Needless to say, she'd been a bit disappointed.

But now she was able to stand up and throw her arms around his shoulders. Remus let out a small sigh but he hugged her back, and he tried to hug her as tightly as possible. Remus' arms immediately went around her waist, and he pulled her close until they couldn't really be separated. "I've missed you," Camellia said quietly, her face pressed into Remus' shoulder.

"Believe me when I say I've missed you too," Remus mumbled, and Camellia pulled away to see him looking relieved.

She stepped away fully after that, and began gathering her things. They were in one place, but she had a few books on Sirius' end table. She wanted to go home, and sit in bed with Remus until she fell asleep. She wanted to have her relationship back instead of missing him constantly. She realized after her books were packed away that Remus and Sirius were both staring at her. "I didn't realize that staying here was that bad," Sirius said, a bit of a smile coming over his face.

"It's not awful, but you know… I do love Remus, and you're just, well, you're just okay," she teases, and Sirius smiles wider.

"Just go home; I'll see you later. I… I am glad you're back, Moony,"

Camellia wasn't surprised when Remus smiled widely at Sirius. "I'm glad too, Padfoot,"

Within five minutes they were back in the living room at their flat. It was dusty, which made Camellia want to clean it, but it was nearing two in the morning and Camellia knew she could clean later. Really, she just wanted to sleep.

Remus gave her a quick kiss once they were standing firmly on the floor, and said "I really did miss you, Camellia. I'll… I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

Before she could stop him he started walking to his room. Camellia hesitated for a moment before she hurried forward and grabbed his hand. Remus turned and looked at her in surprise, and Camellia said, "Do you have to run away?"

"I-I assumed that you'd-"

"My… I won't be able to sleep for a while. We could talk for a bit? Maybe?"

Remus is quiet for a moment before he nods. They walk to Camellia's room instead, neither caring that Remus is in three day-old clothes that smell. Camellia's just glad to be with him again. For a few minutes they just sat against the headboard, Remus' arm around her shoulders and Camellia's head leaning against his shoulder. "I'd have thought you'd want to go to bed, seeing as I'd woken you up,"

"Who's to say we can't go to bed?" Camellia asked softly, glancing up at him. Remus blushed and looked back down at her. The comment definitely surprised him; Camellia hadn't wanted that before.

"But you-"

"My bed's big enough, I think. I don't… I don't want you to leave,"

"Camellia you're just saying that because you missed me,"

"I'm saying that because I've been without you for two months, Remus. And unless you change your mind I… I'd want to stay with you for however long we have left. So I don't… I guess I don't see a problem with lying in a bed with you. Besides, you're warm,"

Her face was warm from the words, but she found that Remus was smiling nervously at her. "I-I could go change or something so I don't-"

"We'll worry about that later," Camellia mumbled, starting to grow tired again. "Can't we just go to sleep for now? I… It is the middle of the night,"

Soon enough they found themselves lying down, Remus' arm draped over Camellia's stomach as her back pressed against his front. It was probably one of the most intimate positions she'd found herself in, and that made her nervous, but it was Remus and she knew that he wouldn't take advantage of her. He'd be respectful, and that was what she wanted.

It was hot though. She was used to being warm, but with Remus' added body heat she felt like she was going to sweat or something. She'd be mortified if that happened. But eventually she did fall asleep, the sound of Remus' breathing comforting her. She loved Remus; she really did love Remus. He was kind, and he was everything she'd ever wanted. Camellia knew that she was incredibly lucky to have him.

When she woke the next morning, Camellia almost screamed. She hadn't remembered that Remus had stayed with her, and all she'd really known was that there was an arm draped over her stomach and her face was pressed into a shoulder. It was an awkward position and she'd definitely overheated in the night. But she was warm and when she knew that she was in bed with Remus she was happy. Despite being too warm she was safe, and she was with the person she loved.

Camellia had woken up first though, and it didn't seem like Remus would wake soon. So, she laid next to him, shifting until her body was facing his. He looked calm and innocent when he slept, which made her smile slightly. And then she realized that he really did stink, which almost made her laugh. He didn't seem to have showered in days and his clothes were dirty and wrinkled, though she didn't know why he'd be so disheveled. His shirt had even ridden up enough to where she could see the scars on his lower stomach.

She didn't care that he was dirty and smelled and she definitely didn't care about the scars. Because she loved him, and she only wanted to stay close to him. Remus made her happier than anyone else; she wouldn't want to be with others.

To her surprise, Remus' eyes opened a few moments later. "You know that you're staring, right?"

"Somehow I figured that out," Camellia mumbled, smiling slightly. "Good morning Remus,"

"You're sure you didn't mind me staying?"

"I asked you didn't I?"

"I...I know, but I didn't think you'd want to sleep in the same bed unless...unless we were…"

"Married?"

Remus turned red, but he nodded. "Exactly,"

"You see, you were gone for two months, Remus. And I… I really did miss you, and I know that I want to stay with you, and I know what that usually entails. I... I don't want to go farther than this for a while, but I...and you're hot and you take up a bit of space, but I love you, and I wouldn't mind it if you stayed in my bed at night,"

Remus turned a bit red at that, but he smiled as well. "I… I think I can handle that," he said, and Camellia let out a breath of relief. She'd been a bit worried that her actions had been too forward, but Remus didn't seem to mind.

"Tell me how it went?" Camellia asked, trying to make morning conversation seem normal to them both.

Remus sighed and ran his hand over his face. "It wasn't terrible, honestly. I couldn't get anyone to tell me that they wanted to go against him, but their leader was all for You-Know-Who and some mentioned that they weren't all too happy with their leadership. I think there's still hope there,"

"I'm glad you got at least that, Remus,"

"It's really not such a bad place to be," he explained. "The last few days were rough though. The people there don't have a lot of money, and they lost access to water. Hence the smell; showering wasn't going to happen,"

Camellia laughed and said, "I think I'm getting used to it actually,"

"Don't," Remus said, chuckling. "As soon as I leave the bed I'm going to the bathroom,"

"You don't have to stay here with me, you know. You didn't have to stay last night if you didn't want to,"

"I do want to, though," Remus shrugged. Then he asked, "Do you want to tell me what happened with Evan Rosier? The Order managed to get word to me that something had happened, but I couldn't leave yet and they couldn't tell me anything else,"

It was Camellia's turn to sigh. "Sirius and I were at Flourish and Blotts, because I wanted to pick up some more things for research, and well, I do enjoy reading. Sirius got distracted with flirting so I went to wait outside because it was crowded and he… he was there. He made some comments about you, and some nasty things about me, and I sent a hex at him. He decided to respond, but he was worse with his curses. I got hurt, Sirius had heard by then and was running out. I… I don't know, Remus; it was really stupid. And I'm fine, anyway,"

"How did you get hurt?" He sounded worried, though Camellia wasn't surprised by that.

"Like I said, Remus. It was really stupid,"

Camellia watched as his eyes narrowed, and she immediately hated his expression. She knew he was angry but in her defense she didn't have to tell him everything, did she? "Camellia, how were you hurt?"

"It… It really was stupid. He'd used some kind of spell and I… well, it was like there were hands around my neck, and I couldn't breathe, and… Okay, I _may_ have blacked out for a few minutes but I-"

She was a bit shocked when he closed the small distance between them and quickly kissed her. He started to pull away, though Camellia instinctively reached out and pulled him closer until they were kissing again and Remus was making a surprised noise. Still, he didn't pull away from her, so she assumed he didn't mind too much. When she pulled away a bit later, Remus stared at her with wide eyes. "What...What was that?"

"Was it wrong?" she asked nervously, trying not to let him down. She'd never really kissed someone like that before, and she didn't want to upset Remus.

"It's just… you've never… you've never wanted something like that before,"

"It was just a kiss,"

"A brilliant one, and… different,"

Camellia blushed and quickly pressed her face into a pillow. "I… It felt right to me, I… I'm sorry,"

"Don't be," Remus said quickly. "Just… Don't be sorry, I didn't mind. It was nice, actually,"

A few more minutes passed before Remus climbed out of bed and went to go shower. Camellia got up as well, though she had to wait to get ready. They only had the one bathroom, and Remus always used it first. Camellia didn't mind waiting because usually Remus would be running off to a job and she had nowhere to go. Even if he did, Remus didn't take long. And true to form about fifteen minutes passed before the water stopped. She waited another few minutes before hurrying to use the bathroom herself.

After that day, they spent a lot more time just laying in bed. Remus didn't have any more missions coming up so he'd found a new job. They didn't necessarily enjoy getting up in the morning, but they did and they'd started to go to bed early to make up for lost time. Camellia was surprised at how fond she was of laying pressed against Remus with his arm thrown over her stomach. Her parents certainly wouldn't have approved, as they were only dating, but Camellia chose not to think about that.

She was happy. And Camellia could tell that Remus was happy, which made her feel good. The longer that he was home, the closer they got, and that seemed to only add to their happiness. Remus had a steady job again, they often went out to dinner so they could have some quality alone time together, though they also made time for their friends. Friendship, according to Professor Dumbledore, was one of the most important things at the moment. Camellia had grown surprisingly lose to Sirius too, and she really did enjoy seeing him. She tended to thank him whenever she saw him, because she felt a bit guilty for staying on his sofa for so long.

But three weeks later there was another funeral that they had to attend. Funerals were never fun, though their friends were there so at least they weren't alone. It was a very somber affair, considering it was the funeral for two brothers. Camellia wasn't sure how they'd died, and she had no interest in learning. When she looked at pictures of the close brothers she was reminded of James and Sirius, and she didn't want to think about that.

Remus was sure to keep their fingers intertwined throughout the entire process. Camellia didn't like funerals, she never really had, though she wanted to support the families who'd lost loved ones. She wanted to support the young soldiers that they'd lost. Because, she realized, they were all soldiers no. They had a meeting the next day, and Camellia had a bad feeling about it. She was worried that Remus would get sent away again, and Camellia knew she wouldn't take that well. She loved Remus and she wanted him to be safe.

She didn't want him to end up dead, nor did she want to attend his funeral. She wasn't sure who would handle planning it, though she was confident she wouldn't be able to. His friends-their friends would surely be a mess. No one would really know what to do.

When the funeral was over, they ended up at James and Lily's flat. Camellia wasn't surprised; they always ended up there after a funeral. They'd sit and toast the fallen and pray that the next time it wouldn't be one of them. Camellia suspected that much of the Order had a similar ritual. And with the world the way it currently was, Camellia was almost glad that Max didn't have to see it. He shouldn't have been involved in such violent behavior; it would have upset him more than anything else. She wasn't happy for her brother's death, but simply for the ability of his innocence to stay with him. And sure some of that innocence had been taken away the night he died, but Camellia liked to think he still had some.

But when they got home that night, Camellia finally noticed that Remus looked terrified. So of course when they lay down in bed that night, she asked, "Is it the funeral that's upsetting you, or something else?"

Remus frowned, and pulled Camellia a little closer. "Partially, I guess. It just… It just hit me that the next person to die could be… it could be one of us, Camellia,"

She sighed, and found his hand before giving it a gentle squeeze. "It won't be. We'll look out for each other,"

" _They_ looked out for each other too. They were brothers, Camellia, _brothers_. What's next? A husband losing his wife? A child losing a parent? Me losing you?"

If the situation had been different, and Camellia's mind wasn't filled with worry about losing Remus, then she might have found the statement to be very sweet. "Believe me, Remus, I'm not keen on losing you either,"

There was an exchanging of sighs before either of them spoke again. "I know it's scary," Camellia said gently. "The thought of losing you is one of the most terrifying ones I've had. But...But we're together, and that's what-"

"What if we got married?"

The question was so sudden that Camellia had no idea how to respond. " _What_?"

She turned to look at Remus and found him blushing and looking away. "I… I'm sorry, it's just… I love you, Camellia, I really do. And before you I never thought that there would be someone to accept me and love me back. And if… if we're going to die, I'd rather be able to say that the happiest time in my life was when we were married. I know… I know this isn't a romantic proposal, but would you at least give it a thought? I just… I don't want to miss out on what life has to offer and I'm completely in love with you, so…"

"I'll think about it, of course," Camellia said quietly, still surprised by the idea. She did love Remus and she would like to marry him, but they were only nineteen and that was still very young. Then again, she'd expected to be married off by this point anyway. And Remus, she knew, was probably kinder and more loving than anyone else.

They didn't talk about it again that night. Instead, Remus traced a pattern on her arm with his finger while his other arm was thrown over her midsection. Camellia fell asleep soon after the proposal, and her dreams were filled with images of weddings and a beaming Remus, and of flowers and a white dress. But it shifted to a funeral, where Camellia saw herself sobbing in the front row next to Remus' father and their friends. She didn't want to be a widow, that much she knew for sure.


	36. Chapter 36

Remus' friends were all surprised when he told them the news about Camellia. And James was shocked to hear that they wanted to get married in only a month. No one had really expected Camellia to move that quickly. And they were only nineteen; they hardly classified as adults and here they were getting married.

It was going to be a small wedding. Camellia didn't have any close relatives, and Remus only had his parents. His mother had fallen ill, and they weren't sure if she'd be able to make it. The news wasn't great, and the morning after they'd found out Camellia had insisted that they cuddle in bed for another hour.

James, Lily, Sirius, and Peter were all coming, as well as Anna and Mark. Anna was to be Camellia's maid of honor-Camellia had insisted on that much. Remus had noticed Peter acting down as of late, so he'd asked Peter to be his best man. He hadn't seen Peter smile quite as widely as he did in that moment.

Remus assumed that purebloods were used to having large weddings, though Camellia seemed relieved to not have to deal with that. She was currently out with Sirius, buying a wedding dress. He had no idea how she'd managed to convince Sirius to take her, but she had. They'd all found that fairly amusing. Then again, she had grown incredibly close to Sirius. Remus sometimes wondered if her old friendship with Regulus had something to do with the development. He didn't really care too much; Remus was just happy that they got along.

Days passed, and each one ended with Remus lying in bed next to Camellia. He did enjoy getting to cuddle up next to her each night and hear the steady sound of her breathing. They were alive, and together, and that was more than some others could say.

They usually ended up talking for a good hour after their first laid down. Remus was surprised that they still hadn't run out of things to talk about yet, because they spent so much time chatting with each other. And now they were laying next to each other in a comfortable silence, and Remus couldn't help but to think about how much he loved her. Whenever he thought about that, though, Remus would think about how easily he could lose her in the war. They'd been together for a while now, and he wasn't really sure what he'd do without her. Remus knew it was bad to depend so much on her, but she depended on him too. It worked, for them at least.

"You're thinking about something, I can tell," Camellia said quietly. She'd shifted until her back was facing him and his arm was draped over her stomach, though that made sure he couldn't see her face at all. He almost wanted to sigh; Remus loved watching her eyes when they talked. They'd light up, and that would make him smile.

"Just about how much I love you," Remus said quietly, hugging Camellia a little tighter.

"I don't want to lose you either," she answered quietly. Remus chose not to wonder how she'd known.

"I… I'm glad you want to stay with me," Remus said softly. "Well make it through the war, and we'll be okay along with all our friends. Evil never wins, right?"

Camellia nodded, and took Remus' hand so she could kiss the back of it. "We'll be just fine, and so will our friends,"

"Maybe I'll be able to get a nice job," Remus said. "You'd have your book, and we'll be happy," Remus could tell that Camellia was starting to drift off, because she only nodded and made a small noise of commitment. "I could teach, eventually. Maybe? I'd love to teach. James, Sirius, and Pete think I'd be a great teacher. They even got me a briefcase for when it happens. _If_ it happens," Camellia was asleep by then, and Remus soon followed suit.

Time seemed to fly after that night, until Remus was standing in the Potter's garden near the makeshift ceremony space. It had been the easiest place for Remus' mother to go, besides their own home, and the garden looked really nice. James had offered it up, and Sirius had helped to decorate. Remus was surprised at how nice it looked, because of that fact. But then again, Sirius would want things to look beautiful for Camellia; he wouldn't ruin it on purpose.

He was nervous. They were getting married, they were only nineteen, and there was a long list of things that could go wrong. They could die, or fall out of love, or Remus could accidentally attack her, or- "Mate, calm down," James said from beside him. "She loves you, and you love her, and everything will be fine,"

"Yeah, Moony, and think about it. She wouldn't marry you if she wasn't sure about it," Sirius said

Lily was about to add her piece, but at that moment Pete came running over to them. He looked worried, which made Remus worried as well. "Pete?" Sirius asked, noticing the fear as well. "Pete, what's wrong?"

"She's gone, Remus-" His heart sunk, and his face burned red in shame. She hadn't wanted to marry him after all. "-there was _so much blood_ I thought I'd be sick; I don't know what happened or if it was hers, but it was all over your flat,"

His friends were staring at him, and Remus looked around in confusion. Blood? "Could...Could you repeat that?"

"She told me that she had to pop back to your flat to get a necklace or something like that. I waited, and then I figured it had taken too long so I went over too and the flat was covered in blood. I don't know whose it was, but it looked like there had been a struggle. I'm sorry, Remus, I should have gone with her and made sure she was alright. I wasn't thinking,"

"It's not your fault, Pete," James said, quickly trying to comfort his friend. He glanced at Lily and saw a horrified look on her face, so he put an arm around her shoulders. "Remus, are you… are you thinking what I am?"

Remus nodded numbly, still trying to process everything. It didn't make sense; his mother wanted Camellia to wear one of her necklaces. They'd planned on it, so why would Camellia just go back home? Had she been put under the Imperius Curse? "Rosier?"

An hour later, they were all sitting in an old house that the Order used for emergency meetings. And the abduction of one of their own, in Remus' opinion, meant that there had to be an emergency meeting. Especially because it was Camellia who'd gone missing. Remus was more worried than he'd ever been before, and he was sure that something would go terribly wrong and he'd never get the chance to see her again. Rosier would kill her, or another one of the Death Eaters would, or she'd escape and never come back to Remus because he'd failed to protect her.

Lily was holding his hand. She was the only one of his friends at the meeting now. James, Sirius, and Peter had all gone to check out his flat, and Remus had been told not to go back for a while. Lily had stated that he would be staying with her and James, and hadn't given him any other choice. She was, however, doing very well at comforting him. Order members were talking about their theories, and about where they thought her body might turn up. Everyone seemed to be convinced that the blood at his flat meant that Camellia was already dead, or very close to dying. The thought of that made Remus' stomach churn; he'd already thrown up once. Then again, the full moon was in another few days and he knew that probably had to do with him feeling sick as well.

"Remus," Lily whispered, ignoring Frank Longbottom saying that they could get the aurors at the Ministry to help look for her, since she still relatively young and there was foul play suspected. Alastor Moody, Frank said, would have agreed but Alastor Moody was out looking for someone else at the moment. "Remus, I think… I think she'll be okay,"

He glanced at Lily and sighed; if no one else thought that, then how could it be true? "Lily, the odds of that being the case…" He had to think logically, he knew, even though he was really bad at it. But thinking only with his emotions would have him already out looking for Camellia instead of just sitting in a chair.

"But Remus, think about it," Lily said quietly. "Rosier only ever wanted to play with her, and make her feel uncomfortable and scared. What fun, for him, would killing her provide? And we're all fairly sure it's Rosier, since he's disappeared today as well. He's...He's doing this for his own amusement, I think. I don't believe this is something the other Death Eaters are in on. At least not yet,"

"But then the blood…"

"It could be fake," Lily suggested. "They use it for things in the muggle world, fake blood. Or maybe Camellia put up a fight, and maybe she's injured, but maybe she injured him too. I just… I can't think that she's...that she's _dead_. Remus, she's our friend. We can't just assume,"

The meeting continued, Remus sitting in silence because he can't help but think about what Lily had said. If Camellia was okay, that meant there was a chance she could come back. He could see her again, if she was okay. Hope, he knew, was a dangerous thing.

That night, Lily dragged him back to her home with James. In the end, Sirius and James were there as well. Peter, they were told, had to go visit his mother. Remus didn't mind, and he knew that Peter felt a bit guilty for what had happened. He'd have to explain to his friend that he wasn't to blame, not at all, and that it was Remus who was. He should have believed her when she told him about Rosier's threat, and he should have taken it more seriously. He should have put up better enchantments, and he should have made sure she wasn't alone.

Sirius poured everyone a drink, and he and James and Lily talked theories while Remus sat and thought. He should have made sure she wasn't alone; he should have- "Remus, you should get some rest," Lily said gently, patting his shoulder. "You can go help look in the morning, we won't stop you, but get some sleep so you're not feeling awful, okay?"

"I already feel awful, Lily," Remus said. "She's gone, and it's…"

"Not your fault," Sirius supplied, looking at Remus with a frown. "We'll all go out in the morning, okay? And we'll find her, and she'll be fine. She's our friend, Remus. We won't just leave her,"

Remus nodded slightly, though he wasn't at all reassured by his friend. He wanted Camellia back; he wanted to get to marry the girl he loved. "We'll find her?" He asked softly, and his friends all nodded. Lily hugged him tightly, and Remus hugged her back. The rest of their night was spent trying to figure out where Evan Rosier would take Camellia.

Three weeks later his mother passed away. Remus had no idea how to handle it, and for a while he just sat in his flat doing nothing. It was James who got him out, promising chocolate and someone to talk to. He wished it could have been Camellia. Still, having his friends around did help, at least for a while. Remus stopped seeing them as often has he had been when he realized how hard of a time his father was having. Remus decided to go and stay with him, which meant leaving his flat. He wanted to stay, in case Camellia turned up. She might not want to go home, but at least she'd know where he was. But three weeks had gone by. Any hope for finding her was slim, according to everyone he spoke with. And his father needed him. Surely Camellia would understand that when she came back? _If_ she came back.

Living at home without his mother was odd. Well, living at home after being on his own for so long was odd, if Remus was being honest. He loved seeing his father, and to be with someone who missed his mother as much as he did made Remus feel a bit better. His father asked about Camellia every now and then, which was hard, but Remus found comfort in his father's soothing words.

He stayed there for another month, trying to function normally without Camellia and his mother. His father started doing better around the third week, or at least functioning slightly normally instead of wallowing in sadness. Remus knew that his father would be okay eventually, and that thought was the one that allowed him to start attending Order meetings again. Not one person mentioned Camellia's name, or any plans to try and find her. It made Remus furious, but he couldn't say anything because the other things they were focusing on were important too.

What really bothered him was the fact that his friends were being silent about Camellia. They saw him, and they knew how he felt about Camellia and how worried he actually was. Remus managed to convince himself that his friends had turned their backs on her, which he knew was wrong, but he still felt angry. Because he was angry, he started volunteering for more and more missions, and Dumbledore started sending him to the werewolves again.

Months passed, where Remus hardly saw his friends and his father. He missed them, and he wished he could spend more than a couple of days in their presence, but the missions kept his mind busy. If he was working on something for the Order then he couldn't think about Camellia, or the fact that she'd been missing for months at that point. Mindless activity, he decided, was better than thinking about her day in and day out.

Remus knew that Evan Rosier had her. He just didn't know where she was being kept. Frank Longbottom had managed to perform a raid on the Rosier's manor, and she hadn't been found. There was no other logical place for her to be kept, which was probably why the Order assumed she was dead. But Remus would know if she was, wouldn't he? He loved Camellia; he'd know if something had happened to her.

Finally, though, things paused when James and Lily had their wedding. Remus went back to his friends, and while Sirius gave him cold looks, James, Lily, and Peter all smiled and hugged him. They were happy he was back, and Remus knew that he should have been happy as well. But he couldn't help but to be jealous, because James and Lily got to have the perfect wedding. It was one he could have imagined himself having with Camellia, had they gotten the chance. He was reminded that day of how much he missed her, though that wasn't too uncommon by that point.

There were people taking pictures at the reception. Remus knew he had to stay, despite wanting to go home and just lay in bed for a few days. He ended up forcing wide smiles in the pictures so that James and Lily could remember how happy the day had been, fifty years down the road, instead of thinking about the sadness he'd felt. He wouldn't ruin their day for them, not like that.

Remus ends up staying long after James and Lily have left for the night. He helps clean up first, and then, because the wedding had been in the Potter's garden, he stayed around and talked with Sirius and Peter. Sirius still looked distrustful, but Remus tried to ignore that. He couldn't figure out why Sirius seemed to dislike him so suddenly, but it made Remus feel self conscious and worried that the rest of his friends would start to dislike him too. Maybe he'd done something wrong? But he couldn't figure out what he'd done; he hadn't even been around to upset Sirius. Unless… Unless Sirius knew something he didn't?

Peter left first, and for a few minutes Remus and Sirius just sat in silence. Finally, though, Remus asked, "Did you find something out?"

Sirius glanced at him, and said, "What do you mean?"

"I just… You seem like you're mad at me, and I can't figure out why, and the only thing...the only thing I can think of, Sirius, is that you know something about Camellia and you're blaming me for it. If that's the case, I… I'm sorry, I…"

Sirius sighed, and shook his head. "It's not like that. And I'm not… I'm not mad at you," he said. "I'm just...I don't know; everything is stressful now, and I guess I'm taking it out on you. I'm sorry about that,"

Remus sighed as well, but nodded. "It's fine. I'm stressed too. I'm...I guess I'd kind of hoped that you knew something about her, just so… just so I could know what had happened, but it's better that we don't know, in the end,"

"Hey, we'll find her eventually," Sirius said softly. "Don't you worry,"

But there was still nothing after that night. Remus would always hope to find her, but everyone around him thought she was dead, and their words had started to stick in his mind. He didn't know how to combat them, and every day got more and more stressful. Remus could only hope that things would get better soon.

Another month passed, and Lily and James announced that Lily was going to have their first child. Their friends all celebrated, and Remus actually forgot, for just a little while, how terrified he was that everyone else was right when it came to Camellia.


	37. Chapter 37

Camellia woke up to pain. That was usual now though, so she tried not to focus on it. Evan Rosier had cursed her again before he'd left the previous night, as he had been doing for a long while by that point. Camellia didn't know how long she'd been stuck in the darkness of what she assumed was a basement or a dungeon. She thought it had been a year, maybe more, or maybe it had just felt like a year. Maybe she'd been here for three days, and she just-No. No, she could remember what Evan had done four days ago.

It made her shudder. It made her feel absolutely disgusting. It didn't help that she hadn't bathed in who knew how long, or that while Evan had had the decency to bring her a toothbrush, he didn't bring her any toothpaste. She felt dirty all over, and she knew there was blood under her nails, and on other places as well. And her wrists, well, those were bruised along with her face and her stomach. If Remus saw her now…

She couldn't think about him. She loved Remus, more than she'd thought possible. And it seemed he'd given up on her. Because she thought it had been a year, and no one had come looking for her yet. Which probably meant that no one actually would. She'd die with only Evan Rosier as company, because eventually he'd get bored of her and with a wave of his wand she'd be dead.

At least she'd get to be with Max again. She'd get to spend eternity chasing her little brother through gardens, and baking bad pies, and seeing his smile. And maybe they could be with their parents too. Maybe her father would hold her in whatever afterlife there was, and he would tell her that he loved her and that she'd done him proud. Maybe her mother would hug her and tell her that Remus had seemed like a nice boy, and that despite his blood status he would have made a good son-in-law.

But those were just dreams. Her parents probably wouldn't have been pleased with Remus, because he was a werewolf and he wasn't a pureblood. And Max would probably blame her for his death, and he'd never want to see her. That was all if there even was an afterlife.

After a while, Camellia realized that there were tears streaming down her cheeks. She assumed there's dirt on her cheeks and that they're making a track. It didn't really matter, but what else did she have to focus on? Remus wasn't there to distract her from nightmares, or to tell her that he loved her. Or to mention that she'd be alright, and that he would help her to be alright again.

More days passed. Evan came and went, sometimes bringing food that had absolutely no taste to it. She didn't want to deal with starvation, because that death would be painful, so she ate. She ate, and Evan laughed at her, and told her that she'd be stuck with him forever. She knew that she would never be free. She couldn't escape; she'd tried in her first days.

She wanted to go home. She wanted to remember why she'd gone back to her and Remus' flat in the first place, because try as she might she couldn't. Camellia had been afraid of going there alone, so why would she do so on the day of her wedding? Everything was supposed to have been perfect. She was supposed to have been a happy wife by this point, and she was supposed to have been Remus' equal. Now she was just some play thing for Evan Rosier.

The days turned into weeks, and then months. She didn't know how, but at some point she must have caught a cold or the flu, because she started throwing up. She was covered in her own vomit for a while, before Evan decided to wave his wand and clean her up. It didn't last too long; she still got sick. Evan chose to force potions down her throat then, and after a while the sickness did stop. Camellia assumed it was the potions, because she knew she wasn't healthy enough to get better on her own. They didn't help much with the pain in her stomach though; it came every now and then and there was nothing she could do about it.

And then, something changed. Evan didn't come one night. And then he didn't come the next. After a few days, Camellia didn't think she would make it much longer, because she knew a person couldn't survive for long without food and water. She was trying to ration what little she had left, but not eating enough just made the pain in her stomach worse.

But then another man entered the room. "Rosier's dead," he stated coldly. "One of your people did it. The Dark Lord would like to see you,"

It was the first time in over a year that she got to take an actual bath. She considered, briefly, just drowning herself so Voldemort wouldn't get to kill her. She assumed he would; why else would he want to see her? Of course there was always the possibility that he'd torture her to get information about the Order, but it wasn't like she knew anything current. She'd been gone for too long, and they'd probably had to change locations, and the members were smart enough to be in hiding or have enough protection to keep themselves safe.

Camellia stared at herself in a mirror for a few minutes. She felt silly doing so, and it was a rather vain act, but she hadn't had the opportunity in a long while.

Her face looked thinner, and unhealthy. Her eyes seemed dull and her hair, though now dry, hung limply around her face. She was paler than normal, though she didn't see much sun anymore so that seemed like an obvious thing to happen. Another obvious addition to her appearance was a relatively large scar that stretched from her right cheek to her chin. She'd tried to escape a few times. She'd never been successful. Still, at least she could say she'd tried. Camellia knew that no one important would know that, but she would. And when she most likely died a prisoner, well, she could at least tell that fact to herself.

There were fresh clothes set on the counter of the bathroom. Camellia looked at them with disdain before deciding to put on the dirty ones she'd been wearing before. She might have cleaned herself for them, but she'd be damned is she dressed the way they wanted her to as well.

She left the bathroom with her head held high. The last year or so hadn't been one of dignity for her, but she'd be dignified now. She'd be dignified in death. The Death Eater that gripped her upper arm tightly glared at her, but didn't mention her choice of clothing. They apparated a moment later, and Camellia felt her stomach grow uncomfortable again. She hadn't gotten sick in a while, but Camellia thought she was about to. She managed to stop herself though, because she wasn't going to deal with being covered in a mess again.

Camellia thought the overly large house they were approaching seemed familiar, but she couldn't remember when she'd seen it before. The Death Eater brought her into the house, though Camellia quickly recognized it as the Malfoy's. She didn't want to be there; she wanted to go home.

But then she realized that home probably wasn't even hers anymore. Remus would have left; he would have moved on. He couldn't spend eternity waiting around for her, and he probably thought she was dead anyway. She had nowhere to go if she ever did get out of the situation she was currently in.

The long table in the dining room was full of Death Eaters. At the head of the table was a man she vaguely recognized as Voldemort, from a party she'd attended with Vaughn. She recognized some other faces as she looked around the room, until she saw a nervous looking boy in the corner. He wasn't even sitting at the table; he was just standing there and looking down. Before she could process what she was doing, Camellia managed to get her arm away from the Death Eater and she ran toward the boy. "Peter!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him as tightly as she could. "Peter, oh God, Peter, what happened? Where are the others? Have they hurt you? I won't let them anymore, I-"

He shoved her away. Camellia stumbled, and looked at him in confusion. "Nicely done, Wormtail," a woman snickered, and Camellia's eyes widened.

"Peter, isn't that what-"

"You really are daft," Peter said softly. "Do you not remember what happened? You all trusted me, but I… I had to prove myself. I explained it all to you, and then I...I sent you back to your flat. Evan Rosier was waiting there to collect you. I handed you over, and I helped to draw division among our friends,"

"Peter, why… I don't…"

She was at a loss for words. They'd all trusted each other, at least for the most part. If James, Sirius, and Remus ever found out about Peter's betrayal they'd be furious. They'd never forgive him, not really. "Wormtail is a good servant," Voldemort said coldly. "Go fetch the other one now,"  
Peter hurried out of the room, and Camellia stared after him. He'd betrayed them all. He'd sent her away for a year to deal with Evan Rosier and everything he wanted to do to her. "I'm sure you're wondering why you've been summoned here today," a cold voice said. There was a moment where Camellia considered meeting the speaker's eyes, but she ended up staring at the floor of the dining room instead. "There is someone who would like to see you,"

And intense wave of fear washed over her, and Camellia's head snapped up. What if it was Remus? What if they'd captured him and they were going to kill him instead of her? What if they killed him and made her watch? But it wasn't Remus that followed Peter into the room. Instead, it was someone she thought she'd never see again. "Camellia,"

She wouldn't look at him. He was supposed to be in Azkaban; how could he possibly have gotten out?

"Camellia, look at me," She did. She didn't want to, but she had to prove to herself that it was someone playing a trick on her. It wasn't. "You're looking well. Thin, and happy,"

"You're delusional," Camellia spat, glaring. "How did you get out?"

"I'm loyal and I'm good with spells. They proved I wasn't the one who killed Max, and I got out. I was welcomed back with open arms, and when I learned they had you, well, I knew I had to see you again,"

Camellia frowned at her brother. "I'd rather go back to whatever hell-hole I was in," Camellia stated. Vaughn took a step toward her, and Camellia stepped backward. "Stay away from me," she said, hoping Vaughn would actually listen to her.

"Camellia, you're my sister," he said gently. "Let me help you. If you join us, then I'm sure you can be saved,"

"I wouldn't make promises you cannot keep,"

Vaughn turned to look at Voldemort, before he nodded. "Yes, my Lord," he said quietly. "I apologize for any insubordination,"

Vaughn took an empty seat at the table. Camellia glared at his back, and chose to ignore the conversation around her. She knew that different members were talking to her or making remarks about her, but she ignored them in favor of glaring at her brother. He deserved to be stuck in Azkaban, not out and free. If Max didn't get to live, then why should Vaughn? Why should any of them?

Apparently, though, the people in the room took offense to her ignoring them. The next thing she knew there were white hot pokers stabbing her all over, and she screamed in agony. Camellia knew she should be used to the sensation by now, as Evan used to use it on her often, but there didn't seem to be any getting used to torture.

It lasted a bit longer before Camellia collapsed, twitching on the ground. Her ears were ringing, and there were fresh tears on her cheeks that would have embarrassed her under different circumstances. And then, there were gentle hands on her arms, and she was being pulled up and out of the room. It wasn't exactly easy to stay standing, but she managed to stumble until she reached a large set of stairs. Camellia expected the man holding her arm to just shove her, and to let her fall. But instead, she was carefully helped down the stairs to a cellar. "Norewood," She knew the voice, but she couldn't really focus on the face. It had been a while since she'd seen Severus Snape.

"Norewood they're going after Lily," he whispered hurriedly. "They want her and Potter and their son. They're going to kill them. They… You're safest here. The Malfoy's won't kill you,"

If it was supposed to reassure her, it didn't. Severus helped her to sit down and then left her. She wasn't surprised by that at all, but what did surprise her was the fact that James and Lily were being targeted. And...And they had a son. She'd missed their wedding, and they had a son. She wondered how old he was. She wondered how well Remus and Sirius got along with him. Sirius had never seemed the type to hang around small children, and Remus, well, they hadn't really talked about it very much, but she figured he was afraid he'd hurt them. He was afraid he'd hurt everyone. He was kind.

Time continued to pass. Every now and then Vaughn would come down, and he would try and convince her to join. She refused every time because she knew she couldn't be evil, and she had hope that someone would come find her. Maybe Remus would figure out what was happening, and maybe he'd find her?

It was doubtful. But at least she didn't have to deal with Evan anymore. She hated Evan Rosier, and it scared her how glad she was that he was dead. And at least in this place there was a kind house elf. They didn't speak much, but he brought her towels to clean herself up with, and food that actually tasted like something, and there was cold water. It was a thousand times better than staying where Evan had her, even though she technically was still a prisoner.

But every night she was afraid. She was afraid that someone would come down, remember they had no good reason to keep her there because she didn't know current information, and end up killing her. They'd killed Order members for less. They'd killed Order members simply for passing by. What she really needed to be afraid of was Lucius Malfoy coming down and trying to get information out of her. No matter how many times she claimed she didn't know anything, he still pulled out his wand and left her shaking on the floor. It was worse when he didn't come down, and sent Bellatrix Lestrange instead. She used the Cruciatus Curse as often as Lucius did, but she also enjoyed poking fun at her. She talked about Max, and about how she thought he'd deserved his death. She told Camellia that Remus was injured, but that his new fiancée was taking good care of him. Camellia didn't believe her at first. But then she was pretty sure that all of the spells were starting to make her confused, and she could no longer remember if Bellatrix Lestrange was lying or not.

The highlight of her life was currently Severus Snape. It felt wrong to say that, and she couldn't remember liking Severus very much during their last year at Hogwarts. But he did love Lily, apparently, so now that she was in danger he was disenchanted with the Death Eaters. Camellia wondered how he kept it hidden, because on the rare occasion he came down to inform her that the people she cared about were still alive he seemed so passionate toward the issue. Surely he had to feel passionate about it at other times too? Or maybe he was tricking her like Bellatrix was. Maybe her friends-her old friends, that is-were all dead and he was trying to keep her hopes up. They were in a war; that definitely was a possibility.

After a while, the door opened and a man was thrown into the cellar with her. With the dim lighting in the area Camellia couldn't see him very well, but he looked about forty. He was groaning like he'd just been through torture, and Camellia approached him cautiously. "Who are you?" She was surprised the man could talk. "Where am I? They… They came with wands and my...they told my wife she had to join if...I don't…"

Camellia hadn't talked civilly with someone in a long while at that point. So when the man looked at her with wide, scared eyes, she didn't know what to say. But she didn't get the chance to speak, because his eyes widened even further and he asked, "Are you like me? You're...You must be the wife of some influential Ministry person. My wife...my wife works in the Auror department, I… It's awful that they took you," He sat up and tried to offer a small smile.

"How so?" Camellia asked. "And no, I...I'm not anyone's wife,"

The man looked at her in confusion. "But you're-"

"I...I'd rather not discuss it. I've been here for too long, but I...It was my wedding day and I never got…" It was supposed to have been the perfect ceremony. It was supposed to have been the perfect day, and it was ruined. By a man she'd thought was a friend. "Did they hurt you?" She decided to ask. There wasn't much she could do besides hope the little house elf would think to visit so he could help the man get better.

"Not as much as they seem to have hurt you," the man said quietly. "Ms…?"

"My name's Camellia Norewood. I-"

"Norewood? My...My daughter had a friend in school named Norewood. He passed away about two years ago. You're his sister then? Max's sister?"

Camellia looked down and nodded. "I am. I...Which one was your daughter?"

"Cassandra. She's a Hufflepuff,"

From then, Camellia managed to pass time by listening to the man's stories. He told her about how his daughter had written letters home about her friend, and when those stories were done he just talked about her. Camellia suspected it helped him cope with what was happening to him. But for her, it was a good distraction. She couldn't obsess over what Bellatrix was saying then, because she only had to listen.


	38. Chapter 38

Remus was drunk. At least he thought he was drunk, because he couldn't remember actually drinking. He knew he was alone though, trapped in the same basement room he'd been in as a child. And he was curled up on the floor, trying to remember what exactly had led him to start drinking in the first place. Maybe he'd thought it would make the transformation easier? Remus would have to go with that as an answer, because he couldn't think of a different reason.

But even that reason didn't work. He could still feel his bones snapping and reforming, feel fur growing quickly on his skin. And he still howled, and tried to tear at his chest. When that was over he still went to the door and hurled himself into it, though he stopped after about an hour. Because after that he was howling, and it was one of the most heartbroken sounds he'd ever made. He howled every full moon though, and it was always for the same reason. Camellia was gone. It had been way over a year since she'd been taken. And Remus knew that by this point any hope of finding her was going to be in finding a body. It seemed the world was against him, because he'd been turned at four, spent years miserable and lonely, and while he had his friends, he'd known no one would ever want to be with him. But then Camellia had, and she'd loved him and wanted to marry him, and then she was gone. He'd never get that chance again, he knew it, and he was shattered.

When the night was over, and Remus transformed once again, he was too tired to move. Everything hurt, too, which meant he was less likely to want to get off the floor. But after about an hour-he'd told his father to leave him be for a while-the door was pulled open. It wasn't his father who entered the room though, it was Sirius. He and Sirius didn't talk much anymore; ever since Camellia had disappeared there was a rift between them. It bothered Remus, but Sirius didn't seem to care. So the fact that he was at the basement was confusing.

Sirius didn't say anything as he walked over and lifted Remus off the ground. Remus just groaned and leaned heavily on his friend, and slowly walked back to the main floor. His father was gone; Remus didn't know where he would be. He felt a little worse though, knowing that his father had left him on a full moon.

Sirius helped him to sit on a chair at the kitchen table, and Remus was surprised when he sighed and said, "I'm sorry. I should have been here last night to help you. I...I went on a raid. There'd been talk of the Malfoy's having prisoners, but we didn't find any. I-Remus, you smell awful,"

"I needed that, really," Remus mumbled. There was a pounding in his head that would probably be there for the rest of the day.

"Remus, are… are you drunk? Please tell me you weren't stupid enough to drink on a full moon," His friend's wand was slowly healing the deep scratches on his chest, though Sirius now looked furious. "How much did you have?"

"Enough to forget why I started," Remus said, trying and failing to shove Sirius away. "I don't need your judgment,"

"Bloody idiot," Sirius muttered, glaring at Remus. "You're getting my judgment. I can't believe you, Remus. Do you even remember what's happening today" He shook his head. He knew it was something important, but his head still felt fuzzy. "It's the funeral, Moony. It's Cam's funeral,"

"Oh," Right. The Order had given up hope. It had been over a year-it had almost been two-and people gone that long didn't show up alive. It didn't matter how Remus felt; that was the way things worked. That was probably what he'd been trying to forget in the first place.

"Look," Sirius said, his voice suddenly much more gentle than it had been moments ago. "I know this is hard for you. It's hard for all of us, really. Everyone loved Cam, even if they weren't incredibly open about it. She was our friend. But… But they took her, Remus, and I know it hurts but she deserves to have this. You know as well as I do that it's not likely we ever find her, not anymore. She… She'd want to be next to Max. She'd want to you to have some actual closure,"

Remus didn't mention how much he hated speaking of Camellia in the past tense. He knew Sirius was right though, no matter how much he wanted to tell his friend that he was wrong. Sirius didn't say anything else though, mainly because Remus didn't speak either. He just finished healing his friend and then went to Remus' room, where a fairly shabby set of robes was laying across the bed. When Sirius had collected that he went back to get Remus and said, "There's a hangover potion at my flat; we'll stop there first before we meet up with James and Lily,"

Remus nodded numbly, and allowed Sirius to take his hand and Apparate. James and Lily were going into hiding within the next few days, but they'd kept the service fairly quiet so far. It was basically just them, Anna and Mark, and Remus' father who would be in attendance. They'd all made an oath, along with Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall, to keep it all between them.

Anna, Remus knew, was bitter about everything. She still didn't want a part in any violence, but she had an intense hatred for the Death Eaters now that she hadn't really had before. The rest of them were fairly bitter too, but Anna had lost her best friend, and she wasn't in much contact with the rest of the people she'd talked to at Hogwarts. Remus could understand why that would make her bitter, as he'd experienced a bit of that feeling because of the situation with Remus. At least he wouldn't lose James and Lily though, so he'd have two people.

They appeared in Sirius' relatively clean flat, and Remus took a seat on the sofa as Sirius went off to dig through his potion cabinet. Remus kept thinking about what would come that day, despite the fact that it made his head hurt even more than he'd thought it would.

Sirius came back with the potion, and handed it to Remus along with a glass of water. "It tastes awful, so you'll want this. Then you're getting changed so we can go meet James and Lily; they want us there for their last lunch in their flat before they have to go into hiding,"

Remus nodded and quickly tipped the vial so he could drink the potion. Sirius had been right; it did taste awful and Remus was half tempted to spit it out immediately. But instead he forced it down his throat and quickly drank the water.

Within a few minutes, they'd both changed into something nicer-Remus tried hard to ignore the fresh scar on his shoulder as he pulled on his robes-and soon after that they were knocking on the door to James and Lily's flat. James pulled the door open, and smiled at them sadly. "Hey," he said. "We're glad you two are here; it'll be a bit of time before we get to see you again,"

Sirius smiled sadly too and Remus just nodded slowly. "But it'll all be fine in the end. Now, you said you'd made lunch? I'm not sure if trust that; at least tell me Lily helped?"

"Lily and Harry," James said, his smiling turning into a proud one when he said his son's name. It always cheered Remus up a bit to see how much love his friend had for his family. At least James was happy; James deserved to be happy.

The lunch wasn't actually too bad; Remus managed to get Sirius to let him hold Harry for a little bit, and the little boy smiled and tried to grab at Remus' face as he made faces. That made them all chuckle, and Remus figured that at least they had that. It wasn't like he'd ever have kids of his own, so he would be a good uncle to Harry and get smiles that way.

And it didn't taste that bad either; he suspected that James had gone to a restaurant and picked up food, and when he'd quietly said that opinion he'd gotten a bark of laughter from Sirius. He wondered if maybe he and Sirius could work through whatever issues they currently had, and they'd be good friends once again.

But as it neared two that afternoon, it was time to head for the cemetery where Max was buried. That was hard enough in and of itself, though they hadn't really visited it much since the actual funeral. Remus had gone with Camellia a few times, but usually if she went she wanted to go alone. It had been hard for her to see her brother's name carved in stone, and she tended to cry which she hated to do in front of people. If the Order members were right though, Remus wouldn't have to hold back from coming. He'd rather visit every day so that the two knew how much he cared about them, as if there was any way for them to know.

The cemetery was still pretty empty when they arrived together. Harry was babbling and trying to grab at Sirius' hair, which made Sirius smile. It seemed Harry was a miracle with how much he was making them all feel better.

About ten minutes after they arrived, Anna and Mark appeared. Lily hugged Anna when she noticed the tears in the former Ravenclaw's eyes, and when Lily pulled away Mark hurried to put an arm around her shoulders and give her a tight squeeze. Remus' father showed up next, and from that point on Remus was pretty sure he couldn't think. He didn't listen to anyone talk to him, and instead just stared at the headstone that had recently been placed next to Max's. There wasn't an actual grave, because they had nothing to bury other than the memories of a girl they'd once loved.

When the small ceremony was over, Remus hugged James, Lily, and Harry before waving goodbye and then waving at Sirius, Anna, and Mark as well. He and his father stood in front of the headstone for a little while before they too went home. Their dinner was silent, though occasionally Remus' father would try to cheer up him. It didn't work well.

That night, Remus lay in bed wondering what he'd done to deserve being so miserable. He was werewolf, sure, but he'd thought he'd been nice enough. He'd made mistakes, sure, but did that warrant losing the person he loved? Apparently it did.

As per usual, Remus slept poorly. He had nightmares of losing Camellia again, or seeing her die even though she'd probably already done that. The dreams terrified him still, and when he woke up he was reminded of how much he missed her once again.

He didn't have a job at the moment, so when he realized it was still fairly early in the morning he decided to just go back to sleep. It was early, and he didn't have anything else to do, not anymore. It wasn't like his sleep was any better once he closed his eyes the second time, but at least he wouldn't be as tired when he woke up. And if he was asleep, well, he didn't have to remember everything bad happening for at least a few minutes.

But Remus didn't even get a few minutes. He got maybe thirty seconds of having his eyes closed once again before his door was thrown open, and Remus sat up nervously. He was once again surprised to see Sirius come barging into his room. He was smiling, which also surprised him, and Remus said, "Bloody hell, Sirius, what are you-"

"Get dressed," Sirius commanded. "Get dressed now, Remus- _Hurry_!"

"Sirius what are you doing here? There's no reason for you to come bursting in here and-"

"Damn it, Remus, just get _up_!"

So Remus did, despite not knowing what it was Sirius was so excited about. He'd seemed okay with Remus the previous day, and Remus didn't plan on ruining that any time soon. As soon as he was covered in actual clothes, Sirius grabbed his hand and Apparated.

He couldn't understand why they showed up at St. Mungos. His first thought was that something awful had happened to James and Lily, but then he remembered that Sirius wouldn't be excited at all by that happening. The first strange thing he noticed was reporters crowding the Welcome Witch's desk. Remus chose to assume someone famous was having a baby or something.

Then, he noticed Anna and Mark in the corner of the room. And beside them were James and Lily and Harry, who was babbling as per usual and trying to grab at James' glasses. "Sirius what's going on?"

"You'll see. Just… Just wait a few minutes, okay? Someone's coming to talk to us," Sirius said, smiling.

They walked over to their friends and took their seats. James and Lily were happily telling Anna and Mark stories about Harry, and about how adorable he was acting as of late. Remus and Sirius had heard the stories before, though they still made both men smile. Anna would look at Mark every now and then, and they'd smile, and Remus knew they'd probably talked about kids of their own. They would make good parents, in his opinion; they were both kind and they cared greatly about the people they were around.

But a half hour passed, and nothing happened. Remus was starting to get frustrated until eventually a woman came over to them. There was a girl clutching her hand, and she looked vaguely familiar, but Remus couldn't say why. "I talked to a healer," the woman says with a sigh. "My husband… My husband woke up. He said they'd been working on an escape for months, and that… that they'd been trying to resist the Imperius curse. They managed it, and they… They didn't eat. They thought if they could hold off long enough than the Death Eaters would have to let them go. Then...Then two nights ago they were woken up by shouting, and they were being jostled. Some people Apparated and brought them to some old house. They...They passed out, and eventually the Death Eaters decided they didn't want to deal with bodies, and left. And my husband woke up and...and he managed to get them here,"

"Who…" Remus started. He didn't dare hope for it to be who he wanted it to be. He'd be crushed when he found out he was wrong.

"My father," the girl said, and the woman smiled down at her. "He...He's been gone for a while, and….and he was with Max's sister. They were together and they were...The healers said my dad will be okay," She sounded completely relieved, and like she hadn't had any better news in years. "He'll be okay," she repeated softly.

Remus turned to his friends with wide eyes. They were all smiling at him. "G-Guys? What...What's…"

"They found her, Remus," Lily said gently. "She's in a bad state, but… but they found her. And we had to come, even though we were supposed to go into hiding today. She's… She's our friend. And I _knew_ she wasn't dead, I _knew_ it, and I know you knew it too,"

Remus shook his head slightly. They had to be playing some kind of cruel joke on him. But why would they do that? "B-But we...Yesterday we…"

"Yesterday doesn't matter anymore. She's going to be alright, Remus,"

The waiting was the worst part. The healers came out and gave them information every now and then, and while it all felt surreal, it was actually happening. He almost couldn't believe it, despite knowing it was true.

The woman and her daughter-Remus remembered her name was Cassandra-got to leave soon after they'd come out and updated Remus' group. Remus was jealous instantly, because he wanted to be led up a few floors to see her. He wanted to know that she was actually safe.

It was mid afternoon when a healer finally came up to him. She looked exhausted, but she was smiling slightly. "I'm hoping one of you is Remus Lupin?" she says, and Remus immediately stands up. "Good. Miss Norewood's file says the two of you are engaged to be married?" He nodded this time, and opened his mouth to say something, but it quickly closed again. "Can you follow me then? I'll let the rest of you know when you can come up,"

They nodded, looking worriedly after Remus and the healer. And Remus just trailed after the woman, hardly listening as she said, "Miss Norewood probably looks very different than she did when you last saw her. I just want to warn you that it won't be exactly the same,"  
Remus didn't care if she looked different when he saw her. He just wanted to _see_ her.

It felt like it took too long for them to reach a door. Remus couldn't see inside, but there were Aurors standing on either side of it. He knew that he'd find her in there, unless they'd made some awful mistake. That was always a possibility. The fear hit Remus quickly, and he nearly took a step back so he wouldn't have to be disappointed. But the healer gave him a little push forward, and said, "Don't be afraid, Dear. We've checked four times to make sure it was her,"

He waited another moment before he entered the room. In the first bed was a man, who was sound asleep. The man looked vaguely familiar; Remus had probably seen his picture in the Daily Prophet at some point. And in the next bed over…

She was unusually thin. Her hair was tangled and wet, like someone had washed it recently, and her face looked tired and sad. Her eyes were focusing on her feet as she sat and tapped her fingers against her leg. "C-Camellia?" Blue eyes snapped over to meet Remus', and before he could process what he was doing he was running to the bed, until he was able to gently pull her into a hug. She was alive.


	39. Chapter 39

There was a hand in her hair, and an arm wrapped around her. She was being held as tightly as possible, and soft kisses were being pressed against every surface of her face that could be reached. And she was crying, without even attempting to hold back. Because it was Remus who was holding her, and she found herself clutching him back.

She had to convince herself that this was real. Remus was in fact holding on to her, and he was the one kissing her, and he _came_. He was with her, after nearly two years. He still loved her; he still wanted to be with her. The two years she'd spent in dungeons and being tortured hadn't ended everything.

"Oh my God," Remus finally said. His arms tightened around her, and he pressed a firm kiss to her lips. "Oh my God, this…. I'm not dreaming; please don't let me being dreaming this…. Please, Camellia-"

"It's real," Camellia whispered, trying to convince herself as well as him. "It's real, it has to be real because if it's not… if it's not, Remus, I don't want to keep going,"

Remus shook his head and buried his face in her shoulder. "They all said you'd died. They all… I thought… I thought they were right because it...it had been so long. We...We had a funeral and… _Camellia_ -"

Camellia wasn't sure what to say, so she decided to just hug Remus. He was there; he loved her, and he'd never leave.

They sat holding each other for a good hour. Camellia knew she was crying, but she couldn't care about that. Remus didn't mind her tears, and he'd wipe them away and tell her that he loved her. She was tired, and she felt sick and dizzy, but as long as Remus was there she would be okay.

Eventually though, healers came in and ran a few tests and talked to he to find out a bit of what had happened while she'd been held prisoner. It was painful to talk about, and Remus spend the majority of the time cringing as she told her story. Her life from the past two years seemed to cause him physical pain about as much as it caused him anger. When she talked about what the Death Eaters had done, with their spells and their taunts and their abuse, Remus' hands clenched into fists and his jaw shut tightly. Camellia had to put a hand on his arm just so he would remember that she was alright now, and that she'd be alright as long as he was there.

A while after the first round of healers came in, another young one entered the room. She first went to the man Camellia owed her life to-it had been his plan that had enabled them to be free once more-and carefully helped him to drink a potion. When the young woman came to Camellia, she had more than one. They were for all different things; one potion has nutrients in it that Camellia had been lacking. Another was to strengthen her once again; apparently she'd been weaker than her comrade. A third potion was handed to her that was supposed to make her fall asleep.

Camellia had objected harshly to that one. She wanted to stay awake and talk to Remus, because they'd been separated for two years and there was a lot of wasted time in that period. But Remus had hushed her with a gentle kiss, and promised that he would still be by her side when she woke up. Camellia had shaken her head and told him that she expected him to be laying by her side instead.

Sleep wasn't as bad as Camellia had imagined it would be. She'd been afraid of having nightmares about the things she had experienced, and while her dreams weren't exactly pleasant they weren't unbearable. And when things in her dreams did start to turn very sour, Remus always showed up and saved her. It was more than she'd thought she'd ever get again, even seeing him in her dreams. She hadn't really forgotten his face over the last two years, though she had tried not to think about it because thinking about Remus was painful. It had reminded her of the life she never thought she'd be able to lead.

When she woke up, there were arms around her that were keeping her warm and safe. Camellia saw scars on them where the sleeves had rolled up, and she knew for sure that it was Remus who was holding her. And she felt helt: Remus was taking care of her and he was really there; she wasn't dreaming.

When she was feeling well enough, Remus drew the curtains around her bed and then hurried off to go get their friends. Camellia wanted to see them all one last time, because for a while James and Lily would be going into hiding. And Sirius, she'd learned, was getting more and more involved with the Order, so she'd probably only see him on occasion from now on.

They entered the room, and Camellia found herself feeling a little off. There was something important that she was forgetting and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't recall the information. The healers had said that could happen, because her mind had suffered a bit with the number of Cruciatus curses that had been used on her, as well as the Imperius curses. She'd been lucky so far, because it didn't seem to be anything too important that she was forgetting.

Anna came in first. She let out a sob, and quickly ran to give Camellia a hug. Camellia squeezed her friend back, and whispered, "I missed you,"

"I never thought I'd see you again," Anna mumbled, pulling away and checking Camellia's face for damage. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again, okay? I could barely handle it,"

Camellia chuckled and said, "I'll try my best not to get kidnapped again. I...I'm really happy to see you, Anna,"

"I'm happy to see you too, Cam,"

She pulled away, but Camellia just ends up being hugged even tighter. Camellia recognized Sirius immediately, and she pressed her face into his shoulder. "You're back," was all he said.

"Brilliant observation," Camellia muttered. "I'm surprised at how much I missed you,"

Sirius pulled away and grinned widely at her. "I could say the same to you, Norewood,"

Camellia found herself smiling in spite of herself. "Back to a last name basis, are we Black?"

"Of course not. I just wanted to make you smile,"

"Sirius Orion Back if you do not get out of my way-"

He was shoved away by Lily, who was followed by James who, Camellia noticed, was carrying a small, black-haired baby. "You two-"

"You missed the wedding," Lily said softly, giving Camellia a gentle hug. "And...And we're very sorry for that,"

"Don't be," Camellia said gently. "I couldn't expect you all to put your lives on hold for me,"

"This is our son," James said proudly, angling the baby so that Camellia could see him. "Harry James Potter. Would...Would you like to hold him? Everyone else has,"

Camellia hesitated; she'd never been good with children. But the small child cooed, and smiled, and Camellia found herself nodding. It felt surprisingly natural to her, and she smiled. "Hello little guy," she whispered. "How lucky you are to have the family you do,"

Conversation started around her, but Camellia chose to focus on Harry. He was smiling, still, and reaching his chubby hands up toward her face. She didn't notice the pain on Remus' face as he saw her holding a child.

After a while, Sirius came and took Harry, and Remus sat down beside Camellia on her bed. "How are you doing?" he asked as their friends laughed around them.

"I'm a bit tired, but I'll be fine," Camellia said softly. "And you?"

"I'm relieved that you're alright. And I...I'm wondering if you can forgive me,"

Camellia tensed and looked at Remus. She was nervous, but she didn't show it. "For?"

"I...You were gone for two years and I couldn't...I didn't find you. And just now...I saw you holding him, Camellia. It looked natural to you; it looked like something you'd want, and I… I can't give you that, Camellia. I can't risk it,"

"Hey," Camellia said gently. "Don't say that. I...I only want you, Remus. You're all I need to be happy. And I'd probably make a dreadful mother anyway,"

"You'd be amazing at it, first of all. And...And all I need to be happy is you, too. I… I love you,"

"I love you too you idiot," Camellia said, kissing him again.

The two rejoined conversation after that. Camellia insisted on hearing everything from the past two years. She was horrified upon learning that Remus' mother had died, and that Regulus was presumed dead as well. Both Sirius and Remus stared at the floor while talking about the new developments in their lives.

After about two hours of catching up, Sirius said, "You know, I've been thinking, and after today we'll all be pretty much separated. James and Lily will be in hiding, I have missions coming up, and I doubt you two will be wanting to do much of anything, so…"

"Sirius what are you trying to say?" Remus asked.

"We missed your wedding," Sirius shrugged, smiling slightly at both of them. "And I thought, you know, maybe we could do the technical part now so we'd all be around. I can tell you two still love each other, and I can tell that this is something you'll both want eventually,"

"Pete's gone though," James pointed out. Camellia frowned slightly; she knew something about Peter. She just didn't remember what it was she knew.

"Don't you boys think this is something they should discuss themselves?" Lily asked. "Two years have passed, Sirius,"

Camellia shook her head and said, "I do want...I mean if Remus still wants to be mar-"

"Of course I do," Remus said quickly.

"Then I...I mean it would be nice to be married with you all around. I know it's not what we planned, but I guess I...I don't know, I just want my family around,"

Everyone smiled at that statement. "Should I figure something out then? Because I know it won't be perfect but...but we could figure something out," Remus suggested quietly.

Camellia found herself smiling once again. "I'm happy as long as you lot are all here,"

Their wedding was not at all a typical one. Lily had conjured flowers for Camellia. James managed to convince someone from the ministry to come and perform the necessary spells to join them together. Remus' father showed up, and he looked relieved to see Camellia alright. It wasn't anything they'd envisioned, but it worked for them.

Three days later, Camellia was released from St. Mungos. The man she'd been with, Thomas, had left the previous day and had been careful to come speak with her before leaving. Camellia and Remus had been sure to thank him repeatedly for helping her, and he'd just shaken his head and thanked Camellia for keeping him sane.

They spent a good amount of time at Remus' father's house, because Remus hadn't been able to live in the flat she'd been taken from. Besides; the house was familiar and they wouldn't have to learn a new place when they were still trying to figure things out with each other. They hadn't been in contact for nearly two years, and there were things they needed to discuss. Especially now that they were bound together for the rest of their lives.

The number one thing on Remus' mind seemed to be Camellia becoming healthy once again. Camellia always shoved his concern away and told him that given time, she'd be fine. Because Camellia didn't want to take time to recover; she wanted to get her life started again. So they started looking for another place to live. And once they'd found a mildly decent flat that they could afford, they moved. They'd even managed to convince Sirius to come and help them move, and he'd seemed more than willing to help out. Remus had asked Peter to come too, but he'd had other things to do that day.

Camellia had a bad feeling in the bottom of her stomach every time Remus mentioned Peter. She couldn't remember why, and when she'd tried to remember other things the Order might find useful, she couldn't. She could only remember the things Evan had done to her, and the various spells that had been used to torture her. And she remembered having conversations with Severus Snape, but she couldn't remember what they'd talked about.

Every now and then they'd go to the two cemeteries their loved ones were buried in. Camellia apologized repeatedly for not being able to attend his mother's funeral, but Remus always shook his head. He couldn't blame her for being kidnapped, and all he cared about was the fact that she was around once again. They went to Max's grave as well, and Camellia found it a bit odd to see her own name on the headstone next to his. She knew she'd been presumed dead as many other had been, and that they'd had a small funeral to honor her, but it was still odd.

But she was happy, in the end. She was with the person she loved, and he didn't really have much of a choice anymore. Camellia didn't really think he'd choose any differently than he had though; Remus told her at least three times a day that he loved her more than she'd ever know. That, along with the small kisses she got whenever they parted, made her feel like one of the luckiest people alive.

The happiness couldn't last forever though. Less than a year after Camellia had gotten back to the people she loved, they were all stolen from her. Sirius, _her_ Sirius, had betrayed Lily and James. Camellia couldn't really believe it, because she knew Sirius, and she knew he wasn't capable of turning on James and Lily. But there was no proof that he hadn't; he had been their secret keeper. And Peter had been killed. Camellia hadn't really trusted him that much since she'd come back, but he'd still been their friend.

Peter's funeral had been almost uncomfortable. His mother was sick and failing, and she'd just lost her son. She spent the funeral sobbing quietly, and seeing her so sad was heartbreaking. Remus had a few tears on his cheeks, and Camellia just rested her head on his shoulder to try and give him whatever comfort she could.

The joint funeral for James and Lily was even more heartbreaking than Peter's. Lily's sister Petunia had to plan it, and she'd been frazzled. Because despite Remus and Camellia's protests, Professor Dumbledore had sent Harry to live with his aunt and uncle rather than both of them. Remus blamed himself for that, because he thought his condition was the reason behind the decision. Camellia had told him not to be silly, because they would have been find taking care of Harry, but Remus didn't listen to her very well.

They were a little surprised when Petunia let them look after Harry for the duration of the funeral. Remus held on to him, and Harry would reach toward their faces and mumble things that sounded a lot like a call for his parents and Sirius. Camellia and Remus managed to keep their emotions about them while they were attending the event, but as soon as they returned to their flat Remus broke down into tears. And Camellia's heart broke a little more at seeing him so upset.

It took a while for them to get their lives back together. It was odd, living without the occasional drop-in from Sirius, or without at least getting a letter from James and Lily with an update on Harry. It was even odd to not have Peter come around every now and then. But they managed. They had lunch with Remus' father every Sunday, and they both found jobs. Remus' were a little less steady than her own, but they made it work.

Their life wasn't perfect. Sometimes they fought, and sometimes they laid in bed at night and didn't speak to each other. But every morning when she left for work, Remus would press the quickest of kisses to her lips. And they would make dinner together if they could, and they always smiled when they were cooking. They were in love; they were going to make things everything work and they weren't going to give up on each other.

The biggest problem they had, as of their first few years of being together, was when Remus found Camellia pacing nervously around their flat. They'd argued for hours about what to do, and ended up not speaking for a good two days. Remus would still kiss her when she left the flat, but other than that they didn't have many interactions. Until Camellia came home to find Remus sitting at their kitchen table, his head in his hands as he waited for her to return. He was in between jobs.

Next to him was a pair of socks, and a small stuffed animal. Camellia looked at him skeptically, and asked, "What are you doing?"

Remus looked down at the table still, saying, "I...I love you,"

"I love you too. Now what's this about?"

"It's...It's an apology. I shouldn't have accused you of planning this, and I shouldn't have gotten so angry. I know...I know this wasn't something we'd agreed on, but I...We'll figure something out, okay?"

Camellia didn't look convinced by his statement. "Remus, you've made your feelings on the matter very clear. I know you don't want this, and I… I mean I didn't want plan this, and I didn't need you yelling at me,"

Remus nodded earnestly. "I know, Camellia, I...I know. That's...That's why I got these. The socks...we don't know gender yet and...and these will at least work, I think? And I'll figure out somewhere safe to go on the full moons so I won't be anywhere around. And...And we'll just have to hope my condition isn't passed down. And...And we'll figure everything out,"

"And the animal?"

"It...It was mine," Remus said quietly, reaching for the small dog. "It...It was my favorite when I was young and my father kept it so I thought...I thought our child might like it too,"

They weren't sure what they were going to do, not really. But from that point on they talked about how things could be, and they hoped that everything would work out in the end. Because whether they liked it or not, they were moving on to the next phase of their lives, and there was no more slowing down or hesitation allowed.

 _The End_


End file.
